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I maintain a code base written by others and I fight this feeling all the time. If (re)writing software has taught me anything is that sentences that start wit
by nicolaslem 9y ago
I maintain a code base written by others and I fight this feeling all the time.
If (re)writing software has taught me anything is that sentences that start with "simply" or "just" actually mean that you don't fully understand the problem.
- dajohnson89 9y agoTo be fair, there's a tendency to fight starting from scratch, on the (arguably incorrect) assumption that starting over introduces higher risk, and greater time & cost.
- TheCoelacanth 9y agoIMO, all-at-once rewrites are almost never a good option. Ship of Theseus style rewrites where every component eventually gets replaced but there is never a hard dividing line between old product and new product can be a good idea.
- warrenm 9y ago"simply implement" may be an understatement, but often enough, rewriting/reimplementing IS simpler (and cleaner, and more maintainable, etc etc etc) than keeping a legacy system going