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> Code is not an “asset” to be carefully shrink-wrapped and preserved, but a cost, a debt. All code is cost. The analogy to accounting is still useful and I be
by jacques_chester 6y ago
> Code is not an “asset” to be carefully shrink-wrapped and preserved, but a cost, a debt. All code is cost.
The analogy to accounting is still useful and I believe correct. Assets depreciate (lose their value) and have carrying costs (storage, insurance, interest etc) that are booked as expenses.
Put another way, a phrase like "all existing code incurs costs" is an accurate analogy. So too is "all code is an asset", because it implies the former.
- sorokod 6y agoSure, but replacing code with new (cheaper?) code has cost in itself. All the author has to offer here is a recommendation to "Write simple code", presumably one that follows his "fits in my head principle".
- jacques_chester 6y ago> Sure, but replacing code with new (cheaper?) code has cost in itself. Of course. That's true of many assets, usually this is called the "replacement value" of the asset. You use replacement value and depreciation to calculate whether replacement is the best option, or whether to extend the life of the asset you already have. Tockey's Return on Software is a fairly readable guide to some of these topics: https://www.amazon.com/Return-Software-Maximizing-Your-Investment/dp/032156149X https://www.amazon.com/Return-Software-Maximizing-Your-Inves...