Published on 15 June 2013.
Today’s thought is about what makes me confident in changing code.
Sometimes I am afraid when I change a piece of code. Other times I am not. What is the difference?
Examples of when I am afraid to change code:
Examples of when I am not so afraid:
Let me examine them each.
The first point can be generalized to changing a part of a system that possibly has a large effect on the rest of the system. That includes both critical parts and parts that much code depend on. If the critical part is isolated from the rest of the system, I find it easier to change with confidence, because I can cover it with tests. So maybe the first point boils down to being afraid of changing code that is intermingled with the rest of the system.
Secondly, I feel more confident in changing Haskell code than C code. If my changed Haskell code compiles, I’m pretty sure that it works. That is probably because of Haskell’s rich type system. It feels like you get a lot of test for free that you have to write manually in other languages. That can probably be generalized to mean that I feel more confident in changing code that has good test coverage.
Thirdly, I feel more confident in changing code in my own projects. In my own projects, I am in charge of the requirements, and I know what is important and what is not. If I am changing something that is less important, it doesn’t matter as much if it breaks. If I change someone else’s code, I don’t know if it is important or not. And in my own projects, nothing is really that important. And if it is important, and I break it, I will fix it quickly.
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