New Blog Post: Comment Drift
Hi Folks,
Hope those in the US enjoyed yesterday’s holiday.
It’s been a quiet few weeks on the blog, due to keeping busy at work. We ran a boot camp for some new hires and are finishing up a few big projects.
Last week brought 2 new posts, though. One is a Reading List that I compiled for some of the folks going through the boot camp at work. It’s a combination of books, blog posts, and subscriptions that are useful for those just getting starting in their careers.
Last week also brought a blog post in the vein of trying to give something a name: Comment Drift. It’s the idea that comments naturally drift out of date over time, which is one of the reasons folks recommend self-documenting code. Hope the name sticks.
Another idea that’s been kicking around in the back of my head is the desire to build something new instead of maintaining what already exists. The New York Times captured this in a recent opinion piece titled, “Let’s Get Excited About Maintenance!” I’ve heard of a few folks frustrated at software organizations because only new projects are rewarded; it’s tough to get recognition for keeping the lights on.
If you have any thoughts on the matter or any stories, I would love to hear them. Drop me an email to let me know about a time you had to make a conscious decision to maintain software instead of building something new, or how your team thinks about that tradeoff.
I’ll hopefully be writing a post around that in the coming weeks.
Thanks!