Note I said -refactor-, not -rewrite-. I am not a fan of rewriting apps: developers always underestimate the complexity involved, and then business rules change

Note I said -refactor-, not -rewrite-. I am not a fan of rewriting apps: developers always underestimate the complexity involved, and then business rules change along the way, and it's just a mess. Refactoring is when you rework a specific section of code, usually that you're about to work on, or just worked on, to be cleaner. It's a long-term approach, and it's how large applications stay maintainable over the long term. For your specific example, you'd leave your app alone. You wouldn't rewrite it, or touch it, until you find a bug, or need to add a new feature, and then you'd rework anything you need to to add the feature cleanly. On a related note, Refactoring by Martin Fowler is a great book, and I'd recommend everybody pick up a copy. It's a beautiful hardcover and looks great on a shelf, too. http://www.amazon.com/Refactoring-Improving-Design-Existing-Code/dp/0201485672 http://www.amazon.com/Refactoring-Improving-Design-Existing-...