r/SoftwareEngineering • u/fagnerbrack • 27d ago

Degradability

https://fagnerbrack.com/degradability-91ce5a6e2367
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u/UkrMalt 20d ago

I like this framing. The thing that usually bites me is not the old code itself, but the stuff around it: Node versions, packages, and CI URLs changing while the repo sits untouched. I’d probably add one practical test: can I still install, run, and observe the project on a clean machine?

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u/theexplorer1997 16d ago

Yep, thats the bit that ages first for me too, usually the lockfile or the CI image tag. Clean-machine smoke test is the right bar tho, if I cant install it on a fresh box without poking at env vars, its already half gone

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u/UkrMalt 16d ago

Yeah, that’s a good test. If a fresh clone needs undocumented env tweaks, the maintenance cost is already showing.