[mikekchar]

Generalisation is always needed in a code base. However, only generalise pieces that you actually use in your code. YAGNI (You Aren't Gonna Need It) is a great principal. You should follow it -- until you need it. Then, of course, do what you need to do.

People often think that projects get slower as code is added. However, the systems we work with are dramatically more complex and based on more pre-existing code than ever before. Because that pre-existing code has been generalised out, we can write new code easily and quickly.

There are two situations that you need to think about wrt to this issue (IMHO). If someone needs to do something that you have already done in your project, it should be simple and obvious how to do it. The more often something needs to be done, the more simple and obvious it needs to be. However, if someone needs to do something that hasn't been done before (even if it is is very much related to what already exists), then all doors should be open. The code should not imply how new work should be done. It definitely shouldn't try to guess what you want to do and do it before you get there.