The last post was an exciting post about new learning, and this one is too….well sort of. As new software developers we will constantly be challenged and expected to perform. Many times we will need to work on the fly learning new legacy code. And that is what this post is about.
Working on a large base of legacy code that is not well documented or well commented can be very stressful. It can begin to feel like trying to trace a single noodle through a big bowl of spaghetti. But it is something we all will face st some point or another. So pull up a chair, grab you’re napkin and take a big bite as we explore some considerations for dealing with hard-to-learn legacy code.
DO:
– Try and give it your best in exploring the code
– Walk through it with the debugger
– Come up with specific questions about functionality
– Ask for help from a developer more familiar with the code base
DON’T:
– Over think it (you got this!)
– Stress yourself out, after all its just code!
– Waste time, we have deadlines to meet, ask for help there is no shame in it.
– Cling to assumptions you have made about how it works
– Be afraid to ask more questions!
These are just some things I have discovered in my own dealings with some legacy code. It is easy for us to stress ourselves out, but really there is no need. Do your best to sift through it and learn to the best of your abilities, and then come up with some thoughtful questions that show you have been trying. Then once you are more comfortable with the limited knowledge you have acquired, ask a more senior developer! They have the knowledge and its better to ask questions than to waste your valuable time spinning your wheels.
At some point just like every other project you have done, things will click. When they do it will be very rewarding and none of the stress or worry will matter; Remember that. As developers it is easy to be hard on ourselves, but don’t be. You are smart and very capable, so get out there and take a bit bite of some legacy code!!
Thanks for reading and as always, Happy Coding!
The Mighty Code Beard
