3 ms·

Absolutely, as someone who grew up in a city like Mumbai, I know much about shanty towns and from my knowledge of them, they are far from ideal. ie. They are no

Absolutely, as someone who grew up in a city like Mumbai, I know much about shanty towns and from my knowledge of them, they are far from ideal. ie. They are not know for a strong foundation, cleanliness, longevity etc. They are constantly hacked and patched by its residents to ensure basics like protection from rain, electricity and basics like a toilet.

raldi 15y ago
And that's how New York and Rome and Shanghai grew into world cities. They didn't pave them over and start from scratch. They grew out of shantytowns.
- badclient 15y ago
  But wait, we were talking about buildings, not cities. A city is made up of many buildings. And buildings are torn down across cities on a daily basis.
  - michael_dorfman 15y ago
    Right, and chunks of code are thrown away on a daily basis. The question is: which is the more appropriate metaphor for a project? A building or a city?
    - badclient 15y ago
      I agree with the position that it depends, code may be a building, or a city or any number of things. I disagree with the OP that deciding to recode can simply be compared to tearing down and making a new building for no reason. That's oversimplification. First, there are times when buildings must be demolished and built from scratch. The OP makes this idea seem ridiculous but it happens everyday when buildings are in fact demolished and rightly so. Second, fewer buildings are demolished and built from scratch relative to programming projects demolished and built from scratch due to the inherent differences between a coding project and a building project. For one, the former is more regulated and carries more physical risk than the latter(a coding project).
  - oceanician 15y ago
    People might think coders are a bit self-important if we start analogising our project's as cities rather than buildings. Maybe some projects are more building innovation centres, that later go on to be used within actual buildings, and some don't get used.

raldi 15y ago

And that's how New York and Rome and Shanghai grew into world cities. They didn't pave them over and start from scratch. They grew out of shantytowns.

badclient 15y ago
But wait, we were talking about buildings, not cities. A city is made up of many buildings. And buildings are torn down across cities on a daily basis.
- michael_dorfman 15y ago
  Right, and chunks of code are thrown away on a daily basis. The question is: which is the more appropriate metaphor for a project? A building or a city?
  - badclient 15y ago
    I agree with the position that it depends, code may be a building, or a city or any number of things. I disagree with the OP that deciding to recode can simply be compared to tearing down and making a new building for no reason. That's oversimplification. First, there are times when buildings must be demolished and built from scratch. The OP makes this idea seem ridiculous but it happens everyday when buildings are in fact demolished and rightly so. Second, fewer buildings are demolished and built from scratch relative to programming projects demolished and built from scratch due to the inherent differences between a coding project and a building project. For one, the former is more regulated and carries more physical risk than the latter(a coding project).
- oceanician 15y ago
  People might think coders are a bit self-important if we start analogising our project's as cities rather than buildings. Maybe some projects are more building innovation centres, that later go on to be used within actual buildings, and some don't get used.