Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by NegatioN 3395 days ago
Wouldn't a complete rewrite of a module usually be a lot easier if the program is procedural?

I think that is one of the big factors stopping that from actually happening with OO code. A rewrite is a lot harder if you tap into what exists elsewhere in the codebase.

I bet you have a lot more insight into this than me though.
2 comments
tigershark 3395 days ago
I don't really think so. With OOP you can easily replace whatever part of the system you want. Obviously if you have written OO code, not if you have written a mixed procedural-spaghetti code in an OO language. You "just" write an implementation for your interfaces that makes all the unit, integration and acceptance tests green. With procedural programming you have no interfaces and more importantly testing was non-existent. Seriously, I thought that in 2017 the advantages of OOP over procedural were obvious, I fell like that I have time-traveled to 15-20 years ago where it was still debatable.
link
NegatioN 3394 days ago
Prodcedural code can also be well compartmentalized and tested.

I was also until recently quite convinced OOP was the only way to go, but I'm seeing signs everywhere that a lot of the design-problems I've met over the past few years are at least magnified by OOP.

The abstraction promised by OOP is a good thing, however very few people are able to consistently make good, reusable and maintained abstractions. To the point where it becomes a weakness rather than a strength. I don't want a billion wrapper-objects that obfuscate my code, and makes the surface area of it bigger than it has to be. Often I struggle understanding code more because of how it was separated, than because of the complexity of what it actually does.

I liked Rich Hickeys talk "Simple made Easy" [1] and "Brian Will: Why OOP is Bad" [2]

[1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rI8tNMsozo0 [2]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QM1iUe6IofM

link
kbenson 3395 days ago
I'm not so sure about that. I think a complete rewrite is easier if you correctly separated concerns and compartmentalized needs. OOP is supposed to enforce/encourage that, but it's fairly easy to not treat your objects as black boxes with APIs, and then you've put constraints on replacing a component. Procedural code doesn't necessarily tout it's ability to encourage that, but well planned and implemented functions can give you the same benefit.

In the end, it's all up the the programmer.

link