On Sun, 2 Oct 2016 11:19:42 -0500
Nate Bargmann <n0nb@???> wrote:

> * On 2016 02 Oct 11:14 -0500, Steve Litt wrote:
> > Hi all,
> >
> > In the following essay, search for the first occurrance of the word
> > "fragility". Then read the paragraph containing it and the one
> > after:
> >
> > https://www.ft.com/content/b1886cac-841d-11e6-8897-2359a58ac7a5
>
> Stuck behind a pay wall. Fair use should allow you to post those
> relevant parts by citing their source, of course.
>
> - Nate

I doubt it would be fair use, so let me paraphrase. She defines "code
fragility" as a situation where a change to one part causes an
unexpected change to a completely different part. She then says:

==================================================
"It’s like changing the lock on your front door and having it
inexplicably cause a fuse to blow in the kitchen."
==================================================

She mentions a survey which ranked code fragility as a major problem
for developers. Later she mentions "a big ball of mud", caused by
complexity, fragility and poor documentation, that has significant
costs.

Every one of these concepts was discussed in the Debian-User systemd
wars, although the usual description was "ball of yarn" or "monolithic
entanglement."

I once tried to tackle this subject with an analogy. It's not as good,
but it's not behind a paywall:

http://troubleshooters.com/linux/systemd/primer.htm

SteveT

Steve Litt
September 2016 featured book: Twenty Eight Tales of Troubleshooting
http://www.troubleshooters.com/28