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Code being technical debt is trivially false. Code is an asset. A house is an asset. A house falls apart if not maintained. So does code. That doesn’t make a ho

Code being technical debt is trivially false. Code is an asset. A house is an asset. A house falls apart if not maintained. So does code. That doesn’t make a house debt, nor code.

emmelaich 3y ago
What's the difference between debt and investment(asset)? You won't know until later.
weego 3y ago
Code is an asset once proven to be so. I don't get the obsession with trying to condense this down to a single concept. Code is necessary, sometimes we write good code that turns out to be an asset in both the short and long terms, sometimes we write mediocre code which is a short-term asset to our business goals but in the long term turns out to be debt. Sometimes we write bad code that will probably never justify itself as an asset because of the problems it a) causes and b) requires human intervention to support, patch or delete.
mkoubaa 3y ago
Software is the asset, not code. A pile of bricks metal plastic and wood is not the asset, the house someone can live in is
- Jensson 3y ago
  Blueprints for good houses are assets, that is what code for good programs is.
rickdeckard 3y ago
And yet, not every assortment of bricks and wood in a backyard is necessarily a house. It must be turned into a house with accepted value first, until then it might even be a liability to the real estate it is piled on. Same applies to code. Also code should first be proven to create value to be valued as an asset. In worst case, it may just be a pile of bricks devaluing the property.
davidmurdoch 3y ago
Technical debt isn't limited to maintenance. It's like if a two story house was built on dirt instead of a proper foundation. Or you skipped adding insulation, or you didn't put all the plumbing in.
magicalhippo 3y ago
I think I like the liability word. Code can be a liability and an asset. It can be an asset because it solves A, but it can also be a liability because it makes it hard to implement B and C. A house can be a liability too if you're required to pay for public services, for example. Sure it's an asset too, but like code, the liability-side might make it worthwhile to get rid of.

Code being technical debt is trivially false. Code is an asset. A house is an asset. A house falls apart if not maintained. So does code. That doesn’t make a house debt, nor code.

emmelaich 3y ago

What's the difference between debt and investment(asset)? You won't know until later.

weego 3y ago

Code is an asset once proven to be so. I don't get the obsession with trying to condense this down to a single concept. Code is necessary, sometimes we write good code that turns out to be an asset in both the short and long terms, sometimes we write mediocre code which is a short-term asset to our business goals but in the long term turns out to be debt. Sometimes we write bad code that will probably never justify itself as an asset because of the problems it a) causes and b) requires human intervention to support, patch or delete.

mkoubaa 3y ago

Software is the asset, not code. A pile of bricks metal plastic and wood is not the asset, the house someone can live in is

Jensson 3y ago
Blueprints for good houses are assets, that is what code for good programs is.

rickdeckard 3y ago

And yet, not every assortment of bricks and wood in a backyard is necessarily a house. It must be turned into a house with accepted value first, until then it might even be a liability to the real estate it is piled on. Same applies to code. Also code should first be proven to create value to be valued as an asset. In worst case, it may just be a pile of bricks devaluing the property.

davidmurdoch 3y ago

Technical debt isn't limited to maintenance. It's like if a two story house was built on dirt instead of a proper foundation. Or you skipped adding insulation, or you didn't put all the plumbing in.

magicalhippo 3y ago

I think I like the liability word. Code can be a liability and an asset. It can be an asset because it solves A, but it can also be a liability because it makes it hard to implement B and C. A house can be a liability too if you're required to pay for public services, for example. Sure it's an asset too, but like code, the liability-side might make it worthwhile to get rid of.