The Joy of Legacy Code

Even though the code may have been written only five years ago, there it is-a sprawling unintelligible mess that nobody wants to touch. For most people and teams, this reality is a cause for fear and loathing-something we want to sweep under the rug. We can, however, choose to see “bad” code as a challenge to restructure and refactor into a maintainable design that serves the business for years to come. Although legacy code presents many constraints on design choices, it offers the opportunity for incremental improvement. Michael Feathers shows you how to practice design within the boundaries of what some see as unintelligible code and explains ways to make the improvement process manageable. See how you can escape the fear that holds you back from productive action. Find out how to start with what you have now and progress toward a structure that supports the work at hand and immediately adds value.