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Be Aware of the Makefile Effect

(blog.yossarian.net)
431 points thunderbong | 1 comments | 11 Jan 25 04:13 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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myhf ◴[11 Jan 25 18:52 UTC] No.42668065[source]▶
"A complex system that works is invariably found to have evolved from a simple system that worked. A complex system designed from scratch never works and cannot be patched up to make it work. You have to start over with a working simple system."

– John Gall (1975) Systemantics: How Systems Really Work and How They Fail

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gall_(author)#Gall's_law

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jfengel ◴[11 Jan 25 19:03 UTC] No.42668139[source]▶
It's why I'm always very skeptical of new languages and frameworks. They often look great on a PowerPoint slide, but it's not clear how they'll look on something complex and long-lasting.

They usually pick up warts added for some special case, and that's a sign that there will be infinitely many more.

There's a fine line between "applying experience" and "designing a whole new system around one pet peeve". But it's a crucial distinction.

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1. notjoemama ◴[12 Jan 25 06:50 UTC] No.42671765[source]▶
> "designing a whole new system around one pet peeve"

BAHHAHAH! So…you mean React. If I hear the word hook as if it alone can solve complexity in web dev one more time I’ll…eh, I’ll do nothing actually. But my point still stands. React solves asynchronous event driven behavior well, but that’s all. Everything else in React projects is, well, everything else.