Article · 10 min read

So, You've Inherited a Legacy Codebase

Erik Dietrich · DaedTech Free Intermediate

Written from the developer's side of exactly your situation: opening a codebase someone else built and figuring out how bad it is. It gives you a feel for what a good reviewer does in the first hours and what 'I can understand this' versus 'this is a mess' actually looks like. Helps you read the review you get back.

  • The first hours reveal how understandable code is
  • A good reviewer hunts for a safety net of tests
  • Messiness is measured by how safely you can change it
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The question it answers

  1. How do I evaluate the code quality of a build I inherited from an agency?

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