Rails 5 Test Prescriptions

Getting Started with Legacy Code

When you’re presented with a new codebase, your first job is to figure out exactly what the heck is going on. Toward that end, you should do three things immediately.

Get the Code in Source Control

These days it probably is already under source control, but you can’t be too careful. Make sure you have all the access to any code repository that you need. While starting on a new legacy codebase is not the time to get fancy with new tools, you’ll be much better served by using Git or some other source-control system that lets you easily create and manipulate branches. This will enable you to easily explore changes to the codebase using branches as scratch pads that can be kept or discarded as needed.

Get the Code ...