I asked whether legacy has a positive/negative connotation when it comes to software systems. The question is likely not entirely fair. The problem is certainly more nuanced.

Still, this small sample shows that when people have to choose, it’s rather negative.

A thread

1/ https://twitter.com/girba/status/1292307167551381506

We have to change this perception because most of software development is about working with legacy.

“Legacy is supposed to be good” @chadfowler



2/

Viewing our work through a negative lens is not setting ourselves to happiness. And unhappy people are unlikely to produce happy solutions. Add to that that the whole world is reshaped on top of software and we have a significant responsibility we have to live up to, too.

3/

We have to change how we relate to legacy systems. If not for our own happiness, for that of everyone else.

The good news is that we have a choice. We can embrace legacy as something positive and optimize our work as such.

4/

A legacy system might not be suitable for tomorrow’s world, but it is still the reason the world is where it is today. From this perspective, there is value in that system. We do have to adapt it for tomorrow, but right now, it has value.

5/

As the negative perception related to legacy software perpetuated for decades, it’s likely that we should look for improvements elsewhere than where we looked at so far.

6/

Much effort has been spent on pursuing the perfect language that makes expressing software more intuitive. That certainly is a worth cause. Software is a representation of thought. It captures our perspective on aspects of the world. We do need humane means of expression.

7/

However, a new language is unlikely to solve the problem of current systems. And this is a problem we have to solve. We cannot continue surrounding ourselves with an ever larger mountain of incomprehensible thoughts.

8/

But, we can turn the problem around. Regarding software as a representation of thought makes it more evident that it is not only the expression, but also our ability to understand past thoughts can be both important and exciting.

9/

That we perceive legacy as negative is mostly due to a wrong perspective that we must change. And we can change it by augmenting our ability to understand our past thoughts.

/10

Let's make transforming our relationship to legacy systems a priority. Let's have a systematic conversation about how to make it work. We should not stop until working with legacy is joyful.

11/11