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

107 points pixelworm | 1 comments | 24 Aug 25 05:08 UTC | HN request time: 0s | 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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belZaah ◴[24 Aug 25 06:07 UTC] No.45001794[source]▶
My experience (30 years in software, 25 in practicing architecture, MIT system architecture masters) tells me there is no such thing as abstractly “good” design. There are designs with negative consequences for sure, but “good” depends on the context: what are you building, safety/security requirements etc. Probably most importantly on the implementation team and it’s structure. A team of juniors will butcher your intricate design and Conway’s Law makes your software reflect the team.
replies(2): >>45002062 #>>45004980 #
1. peterfirefly ◴[24 Aug 25 15:30 UTC] No.45004980[source]▶
It's about having most compromises be Not Totally Stupid and have the worst ones only be locally stupid. There is a big universe out there of compromises that fulfill those criteria. As you imply, a lot of the time it's more about constantly fighting for Less-Bad-and-avoiding-Dumb than about architecture as such.