⛑ I'm building up a kit to help you rescue your codebase!
When I say "Legacy Code" I mean valuable code you're afraid to change.
We all have to deal with Legacy Code. But it's damn hard to!
Here you'll find answers to your questions. I'm sharing useful tips and concrete advice that will help you tame the legacy codebase you've inherited.
📖 Helpful Guides
- Getting into a large codebase
Diving into a large, undocumented codebase is overwhelming. Let's see some techniques to approach it.
- Is it a best practice or a code smell?
Not sure if a pattern will make the code more maintainable? Here are a few resources that will help.
- Changing untested code without breaking it
Without tests, every code change is risky. But how to put tests on a code that wasn't design for it?
- Code feels impossible to maintain
Sometimes, you seem to hit a point of no return and that the best strategy would be to burn it all and start over. Are there alternatives?
- Making others care about it
What you can do when it seems that no-one cares about the technical debt that's piling up.
🥋 Specific techniques
- Approval Testing
A technique to quickly put tests on Legacy Code, so you can refactor safely.
- Behavioral Analysis
A technique to get insights from large codebases, using VCS information.
💡 Latest articles
- The key points of The Legacy Code Programmer's Toolbox
This book is full of tips to get into an unfamiliar codebase. Here's my summary of its salient points.
- Approval Tests, TCR, and Menders
5 great talks on Legacy Code that I the pleasure to host. Learn how to test existing code and approach unfamiliar codebases.
- When should you stop refactoring Legacy Code?
A personal story to illustrate how good habits can save your day when things turn bad.
- 4 developers working their way through Legacy Code
Practice working with code you've never seen before helps make it easier. Here's my selection of videos that will expose you to seasoned developers doing that!
- Where should you put the documentation?
What you should be looking for to build a great and useful documentation.
- If you want more, check all my published articles
Written by Nicolas Carlo who lives and works in Montreal, Canada 🍁
He founded the Software Crafters Montreal community which cares about building maintainable softwares.