Outdated code - when to move on

Question

My team and support for a large number of legacy applications, all of which are currently functional, but problematic to support and support. They all depend on code that does not officially support compiler production.

So, the question is, should we leave the code as is and risk a new compiler that violates our code, or should we bite the bullet and update the whole code?

Answer 1

The answer depends entirely on the resources that your employer (or yourself) can afford to do refactoring (or even completely rewrite large parts).

So, you must first evaluate how much time / developers you can afford to refactor the application, and then see if you think this will be enough.

If you can afford time and people, then do it, feel free! You invest in the future by reducing the debugging time of the application so that it is useful and less expensive after refactoring is completed.

Answer 2

It depends on the nature of the applications, how important and important they are, as well as the culture of programming at your workplace and the resources available to you.

If the applications are valuable enough to you, they are worth the trouble and you have the necessary resources, then upgrade. Do not leave the problem.

If they are not valuable enough to be a full-fledged upgrade effort, or suitable resources are not at hand, perhaps work on the upgrade one at a time, if possible.

Just some suggestions, but again, it depends a lot on you and your organization.

Answer 3

It looks like you have a lot of technical debt. This debt will only increase if you do nothing. Both of the things you mentioned are risky options, but in the long run, this is the risk you need to take.

Using an updated compiler means that you need to update the code to work in the new compiler. Something will definitely break, but then reorganize the broken parts. This allows you to migrate.

Another option is to update the entire code base. This takes time, during which you need to save 2 copies of the code or freeze the old version. Freezing the old version is probably not an option.

I would recommend using an updated compiler and fixing what is happening. This allows you to add functions, as well as refactoring and fixing the current code base.

Answer 4

Rewriting the code can be useful for you for many reasons:

• you can use a new compiler and a newer platform.
• You can reorganize code that removes its flaws.
• you can motivate your people because developing new code is better than correct mistakes in the old version.

Why don't you start this activity with a small number of people, starting with the most common pieces of code? You can group them in a dll and use it also for future projects.