Lecture on Deleting Code

Introduction

• Different topic: Deleting code
• Few talks about deleting code
• Personal experience: Spent morning on slides, changed mind, using only one slide
• Question: Feel good removing more code than added in pull requests?

Waterfall and Its Irony

• Waterfall paper irony: Describes agile
• How many read it?
• Importance: Read waterfall paper
• Describes modern agile throughout except first page

The Big Ball of Mud

• Inevitability and optimality
• Concept: Smaller pockets inside big ball of mud
• Aim: Writing code to delete it

Code Deletion and Optimization

• Importance of deletable code
• Erlang's influence: Small programs, often rewritten
• Writing code to delete: Facilitates easier feature addition

Refactoring Misconceptions

• Many misunderstanding refactoring
• Refactor: Change either test or code, not both at once
• Tools pushing incorrect practices

Influence of Tools on Code

• Big IDEs influence on code structure
• Example: Erlang promotes small programs and microservices

Microservices and Optimal Size

• Definition of microservices unclear
• Finding Goldilocks zone for microservices
• Rule of thumb: Work not exceeding one week

Benefits of Deleting Code

• Reduces fear, improves velocity, easier to manage
• Technical debt and risk management
• Focus on decoupling and deletable code

Practical Examples and Strategies

• Example: Event Store, benefits of rewriting backend
• Use of coupling analysis tools like Sonar and DepenD
• Optimizing for deletability, managing risks, avoiding monoliths

Technical Debt

• Not inherently bad; compared to financial debt
• Managing technical debt with deletable code

Importance of Mastering Fundamentals

• References to Alan Kay's object-oriented concepts
• Importance of understanding core principles
• Erlang and Unix principles aligned with modern practices

Practical Takeaways

• Aim for small, manageable code modules
• Optimizing code for deletability enhances flexibility and reduces fear
• Refactoring as needed rather than forced by tools
• Adopt practical, manageable approaches over complex abstractions

Conclusion

• Deletion as an architectural quality
• Encouragement to explore fundamental programming concepts and approaches