Are Rewrites always a Bad Idea?
Talk (60 min)
Ask most senior developers and they will tell you that a rewrite is rarely a good idea. And they’re right. But under what circumstances is a rewrite actually the best path forward?
I faced this question with my team in a recent customer project. We were responsible for running and maintaining a service written by an academic in C++. The only problem? We are neither academics nor C++ developers. With the customer keen to add features to the ageing service, we asked ourselves, do we dare to rewrite?
In this talk I will share my experiences on this project, including what it was like to take my first steps into a leadership role simply because I knew the most math.
Using this project as a backdrop, this talk will cover
- When a rewrite can be a good idea
- Choosing the tech stack
- Taking a leadership role as a junior dev
- Geeky stuff from the domain: turning academia into code
Adele Carpenter
Adele is a Software Engineer and Consultant at Trifork Amsterdam where she is working on systems for the educational sector. Most of her work day is spent in the JVM/Spring and React ecosystems, although increasingly she plays a pivotal role as trusted advisor to Trifork’s customers.
Adele is an experienced international speaker, having spoken at multiple editions of NDC, goto, Devoxx and JavaZone. As a speaker, she uses her exposure to real-world customer projects, experiences outside of tech and passion for story-telling to distill complex ideas into their essential parts. All with an air of good humour.
When she’s not at her computer or on stage, you can find her in the gym pumping some serious iron as she pursues the sport of powerlifting.