[imheretolearn]

> If you lost all of the code today, with the right understanding you could build it again relatively quickly

Yes, but it has nothing to do with the codebase. There are 10,000 ways of building the same product with entirely different codebases.

[analog31]

Building the same product with a different codebase is virtually guaranteed to be a disaster. This is the famous "second system effect."

Sometimes the original coders are the only people who know, not only how the software works, but even what it does. Unknown uses include features discovered by users but unknown to the makers, and one-off hacks created to serve a valuable customer.

[imheretolearn]

> Building the same product with a different codebase is virtually guaranteed to be a disaster.

There is no point in going back and forth over this unless you have a real world example.

> This is the famous "second system effect."

[1] I believe you've misunderstood this effect. My understanding is that in the "second system effect", the succeeding system is not the "same" as the original

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second-system_effect

[naasking]

Sure, but deviation from a known path introduces more risk. Every different technical choice at the very least may introduce unforeseen incompatibilities with previous "knowns".