I just refactored a piece of code. I deleted 6 source code files, and rebuilt the functionality with a bunch of dirty OOP classes shoved in a single file 😱

I used OOP for simplification, and in the process I got rid of type parameters, type classes, and implicit parameters. Plain-old OOP design saved the day, i.e. shove those side effects behind an interface, and pass those objects around, blissfully unaware as to what they do (launching rockets A-OK). It was glorious! I can’t remember the last time it felt this good.

Then it dawned on me that I wrote that code to begin with. This piece already underwent a major refactoring, having introduced extra complexity, without catching the subtleties, or smelling the stench of my own doing. What’s going on?

I started blaming the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s been a year since I’ve been lethargic (aka mild to moderate depression), missing the creative energy that I remember since before the world went mad. But then I started giving myself some credit, because the truth is … as I grow old, I tolerate people more, while tolerating BS in programming less.

Here’s some science¹:

This is another way of saying that you should never forget YAGNI², KISS³, the Principle of Least Surprise⁴, or whatever kids call it these days. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should, with great power comes great responsibility, learn from my mistakes, etc, etc. Most importantly, sometimes DRY⁵ is a bad philosophy, monomorphic code is sometimes the best code, copy/paste that shit.