I’m curious how software can be created and evolve over time. I’m afraid that at some point, we’ll realize there are issues with the software we’re using that can only be remedied by massive changes or a complete rewrite.

Are there any instances of this happening? Where something is designed with a flaw that doesn’t get realized until much later, necessitating scrapping the whole thing and starting from scratch?

  • MrAlternateTape@lemm.ee
    0·
    7 months ago

    It’s actually a classic programmer move to start over again. I’ve read the book “Clean Code” and it talks about a little bit.

    Appereantly it would not be the first time that the new start turns into the same mess as the old codebase it’s supposed to replace. While starting over can be tempting, refactoring is in my opinion better.

    If you refactor a lot, you start thinking the same way about the new code you write. So any new code you write will probably be better and you’ll be cleaning up the old code too. If you know you have to clean up the mess anyways, better do it right the first time …

    However it is not hard to imagine that some programming languages simply get too old and the application has to be rewritten in a new language to ensure continuity. So I think that happens sometimes.

    • teawrecks@sopuli.xyz
      0·
      7 months ago

      Yeah, this was something I recognized about myself in the first few years out of school. My brain always wanted to say “all of this is a mess, let’s just delete it all and start from scratch” as though that was some kind of bold/smart move.

      But I now understand that it’s the mark of a talented engineer to see where we are as point A, where we want to be as point B, and be able to navigate from A to B before some deadline (and maybe you have points/deadlines C, D, E, etc.). The person who has that vision is who you want in charge.

      Chesterton’s Fence is the relevant analogy: “you should never destroy a fence until you understand why it’s there in the first place.”

      • sepulcher@lemmy.caOP
        0·
        7 months ago

        “you should never destroy a fence until you understand why it’s there in the first place.”

        I like that; really makes me think about my time in building-games.

      • 0x0@programming.dev
        0·
        7 months ago

        I’d counter that with monolithic, legacy apps without any testing trying to refactor can be a real pain.

        I much prefer starting from scratch, while trying to avoid past mistakes and still maintaining the old app until new up is ready. Then management starts managing and new app becomes old app. Rinse and repeat.

        • teawrecks@sopuli.xyz
          0·
          7 months ago

          I made a thing.

          The difference between the idiot and the expert, is the expert knows why the fences are there, and can do the rewrite without having to relearn lessons. But if you’re supporting a package you didn’t originally write, a rewrite is much harder.

          • msage@programming.dev
            0·
            7 months ago

            Which is something I always try to explain to juniors: writing code is cool, but for your sake learn how to READ code.

            Not just understanding what it does, but what was it all meant to do. Even reading your own code is a skill that needs some focus.

            Side note: I hate it to my core when people copy code mindlessly. Sometimes it’s not even a bug, or a performance issue, but something utterly stupid and much harder to read. But because they didn’t understand it, and didn’t even try, they just copy-pasted it and went on. Ugh.