Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by brodouevencode 634 days ago
the problem with the yagni argument is is you aint gonna need it until you do
2 comments

I think there is a variant of "you don't currently need it" that people should follow more. Build towards what you think you will need, by all means. But try and only build what you need right now.
This is a good point, and lines up with the real yagni argument.

However, I do not like the readiness that people have with throwing around the yagni argument for things they don't want to support, build, or disagree with, often contorting or oversimplifying it to get their way.

The yagni argument itself is reasonable, but is often misused/abused.

Yeah. There's a healthy middle ground between boxing yourself in and boxing yourself out. Don't write things before you need them, but if you can tweak an implementation slightly with knowledge of things you're thinking about adding later, that's often a good idea idea.
Unless you are actually a FAANG, you don't need them. And in the extremely unlikely case you become the next FAANG you'll have plenty of money to throw at the problem.
This is a gross oversimplification.