Re:B-threads: programming in a way that allows for easier ch...
by munificent on Monday July 29, 2019 @08:56PM
(#20561117)
> What is to prevent some future maintainer from breaking that requirement when they bolt on their change on any other codebase?
A bunch of stuff:
* A cultural expectation that you understand what the existing code does before you change it.
* Seeing the tests and documentation for the code when you're in there.
* Having to physically delete some existing code in order to remove functionality, which forces you to reckon with that choice.
I mean, the general thesis of the article is "here's a methodology that allows you to add stuff to a program without understanding what it does". And my claim is that that's bad goal in the first place because it means you can discard behavior users rely on without realizing it.
A bunch of stuff:
* A cultural expectation that you understand what the existing code does before you change it.
* Seeing the tests and documentation for the code when you're in there.
* Having to physically delete some existing code in order to remove functionality, which forces you to reckon with that choice.
I mean, the general thesis of the article is "here's a methodology that allows you to add stuff to a program without understanding what it does". And my claim is that that's bad goal in the first place because it means you can discard behavior users rely on without realizing it.