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How does using a libraries make your code less maintainable?

• eeZi 12y ago
  It doesn't.
• adrusi 12y ago
  If thought about properly, it doesn't. If you pull in a dependency on Xlib because you wanted a matrix math function from a graphics library, then it does. If you're building on a platform that emphasizes many small libraries, and you pull in a few well-reputed ones, only to find that your dependency graph now includes 15 small buggy libraries hosted on github and abandoned by their developers, then it does. If you introduce a dependency on a Windows-only library in your game's physics engine, and then want to port the game to Linux, then it does. It's possible to be sloppy with using libraries, but I don't think academically-grounded programmers are any prone to being sloppy.
  • trigoman 12y ago
    Ok so basically, being irresponsible about which libraries you depend on. Got it, thanks!
• topkai22 12y ago
  If you are writing a enterprise crud or workflow app that likely wont ever be looked at again till a systems upgrade comes in 3 years, having a sprawl of abandoned or semi-abandoned libraries can be a nightmare to update. Enterprise it management includes trying to coalesce around a well known corporate standards for that reason. It's much easier to maintain upgrade a portfolio of projects if they are all using the same libraries than if each project is using a different 3rd party library. Sometimes these standards mean sucking it up and using core language feature or existing library features to bridge the gap to where you want to be.