Rewrite or Refactor?

In this month's meeting, we will examine the age old question of whether to refactor (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_refactoring) existing code or to scrap it and rewrite it from scratch. We'll take a look at Joel Spolsky's 2000 essay on the subject and a follow-on visualization of Joel's points by Jeremy Burton from 2011.

Joel on Software: Things You Should Never Do, Part I (http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/fog0000000069.html)

http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/fog0000000069.html

Why You Should (Almost) Never Rewrite Code – A Graphical Guide (http://vibratingmelon.com/2011/06/10/why-you-should-almost-never-rewrite-code-a-graphical-guide/)

http://vibratingmelon.com/2011/06/10/why-you-should-almost-never-rewrite-code-a-graphical-guide/

Please read these blog posts before the meeting!

Bring a laptop with your favorite development environment installed for the programming exercise.

Agenda:

• 6:00 pm - 6:30 pm Dinner and socializing

• 6:30 pm - 6:45 pm Lightning talks (up to 3 talks of 5 minutes each)

• 6:45 pm - 7:15 pm Reading discussion

• 7:15 pm - 8:15 pm Programming exercise

A lightning talk (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning_talk) can be on any subject you like, but is limited to 5 minutes and there will be a maximum of 3 lightning talks per meeting. You do not need to prepare any sort of formal presentation for a lightning talk, but a projector will be available if you want one.

For the programming exercise, we will use test-driven development and pair programming practices. If you haven't used these practices before, now will be a perfect time to try them and experience them!

Dinner is provided by O. C. Tanner Labs. Thanks!

Please be sure to RSVP so we have an accurate head count for the food order.