Peopleware Papers: Notes on the Human Side of Software, The

Chapter 27. Rewards and Reuse

We recycle so many things, from grocery bags to toner cartridges, why not recycle code? Why not reuse our designs and models rather than always starting from scratch? The rewards of reuse seem to be enormous. What code is cheaper to write than the code you don't have to write at all? With higher levels of reuse supported by larger component libraries, we might double or triple effective productivity. All we have to do is change the whole culture of software development and maybe the personalities of programmers.

Old Problems

Reuse is hardly a new idea. The lowly subroutine was conceived so that the same instructions did not have to be written out each time a particular calculation was needed. Reusable component libraries ...