Consider the Big Ball of Mud: http://www.laputan.org/mud/ http://www.laputan.org/mud/ This can be either a pattern or an antipattern, depending on your perspec

Consider the Big Ball of Mud: http://www.laputan.org/mud/ http://www.laputan.org/mud/ This can be either a pattern or an antipattern, depending on your perspective. I tend to think of it as an antipattern. Rewrites are often driven by difficulty in refactoring more than fundamental flaws, but the refactoring problems are caused by coupling between layers/systems. The problem with rewriting to avoid a refactoring is that you're most likely going to wind up with a shiny new Ball of Mud.