3 ms·
> it's easier to make a simple thing more complex than it is to make a complex thing more simple Ha, yes, sort-of. That seems immediately right, but when you c
by hxa7241 16y ago
> it's easier to make a simple thing more complex than it is to make a complex thing more simple
Ha, yes, sort-of. That seems immediately right, but when you consider it, it doesn't quite make sense, in those words.
To make something more complex you must create new things. But to make something simpler you can just destroy a chunk of it. It is certainly easier to delete code than write it.
What I think is the point is: it is easy to make something better by just accumulating features; it is hard to make something better by removing features.
- bluesnowmonkey 16y agoDeleting code is as difficult as the amount of other code that depends on it. It can be much, much harder than writing new code. For example, can you imagine removing a core shell command like grep? Practically impossible. Creating a new one--however hard--is still at least possible.
- hxa7241 16y agoOK, what I am saying is that the original statement only makes sense because it has an implication of maintaining coherence -- but it doesn't actually bring that important point out. It is not quite the simplifying, per se, that is difficult, it is keeping the overall structure or improving it. Maybe that is an overly fine (or pedantic) point, but maybe not . . .
- anigbrowl 16y agoA car with no wheels is not simpler, it's just broken - at least until you can make it float like a hovercraft. Simplicity is when you get the same quality with less complexity.