Things You Should Never Do, Part I

Metadata

• URL: [https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2000/04/06/things-you-should-never-do-part-i/
• Author: Joel Spolsky
• Publisher: www.joelonsoftware.com
• Published Date: 2000-04-06
• Note: Rewrite from scratch
• Tags:

Highlights

• single worst strategic mistake that any software company can make: They decided to rewrite the code from scratch.
• Programmers are, in their hearts, architects, and the first thing they want to do when they get to a site is to bulldoze the place flat and build something grand.
  • Note: Cómo no hacer nada
• The reason that they think the old code is a mess is because of a cardinal, fundamental law of programming: It’s harder to read code than to write it.
• They write their own function because it’s easier and more fun than figuring out how the old function works.
• Even fairly major architectural changes can be done without throwing away the code.
• when you start from scratch there is absolutely no reason to believe that you are going to do a better job than you did the first time.