[nine_k]

> I cannot relate to people who make prototypes to throw away, I've never done it

Have you ever had that moment when you say: "Oh damn, now I got it! I should do it entirely differently!" — and then you code up a different approach, the approach that works well enough.

If you had this moment, it was the moment of throwing away the prototype.

[the_af]

Yes, but this often occurs a few months or years into production, way too late to throw it away.

I've never written a prototype, nor seen one written, in actual businesses. I've never had an employer with the patience to let me play with a prototype either.

[nine_k]

If it happens years into production, especially after the load has increased or requirements have changed, it is a legitimate version 2 :)

[the_af]

> it is a legitimate version 2

Maybe, but then the previous one was version 1, not a prototype. I've never seen people actually write prototypes, nor management accept time invested on writing prototypes, in any job I've had.

Prototypes always directly become version 1 on production, unless of course the whole project gets canceled mid-development.

[_y5hn]

I've seen rewrites introducing massive bughunts and upsetting customers without improving too much. I've also seen customers expecting and even relying on old bugs for comfort.

Rewrite is always a business decision and need legitimate reasons. You rarely have those reasons, knowledge and time between projects.

[nine_k]

I like to remember how eBay have rewritten their backend three times.

Not because the previous version was wrong, but because it became inadequate as business grew and requirements changed.

[arvinsim]

This occurs frequently.

Convincing management to refactor your code is another thing entirely.