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Ask HN: Best codebases to study to learn software design?

107 points pixelworm | 2 comments | 24 Aug 25 05:08 UTC | HN request time: 0.416s | source

I’m working on improving my software design skills, and it was recommended that I study existing well designed codebases. What are some publicly accessible codebases you would consider gold standards for software design?
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pfannkuchen ◴[24 Aug 25 06:11 UTC] No.45001808[source]▶
Maybe I’m just not good enough at paying attention, but for me it seems like you have to actually run into problems over and over and figure out how to avoid the problems. Then you end up being able to mentally simulate what problems you will run into, and design is basically all about avoiding future problems of various kinds (and balancing tradeoffs about which future problems to avoid and how much effort to put into each, whether you can solve multiple with one design play, etc).
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1. teekert ◴[24 Aug 25 07:16 UTC] No.45002077[source]▶
I have this too, I have never been able to "do exercises" or "study a codebase". I need to be making something that I am excited about, then I'll learn, from examples, from wanting to be thorough and correct.

But sometimes I think I'm just not their yet, if I become able to read code like a book and really understand what happens, which often I don't, then perhaps I'll enjoy the process more.

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2. estimator7292 ◴[24 Aug 25 23:58 UTC] No.45008917[source]▶
That's how I learn as well. I've found that reading code is a completely different thing from learning. Not even tangentially related.

I can read a codebase and run simulations in my head. But this almost never results in learning anything. I can study code and see how a particular task is done, but I don't learn it until I put it into practice. Just about the only thing I get from reading other people's code is the most egregious ways to not do something.

This is a pretty common thing, a plurality of humans learn this way. We just have different standards for software, for some reason. We like to pretend books teach you something more "real" than just getting your hands dirty and writing some real fucked up code. But the reality is that figuring out why your disaster code doesn't work, and then fixing it is one of the most educational experiences a programmer can have.