Skip to Content
Robust Python
book

Robust Python

by Patrick Viafore
July 2021
Intermediate to advanced
378 pages
9h 35m
English
O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Content preview from Robust Python

Chapter 7. Adopting Typechecking Practically

Many developers dream of the days when they’ll finally work in a completely green-field project. A green-field project is one that is brand-new, where you have a blank slate with your code’s architecture, design, and modularity. However, most projects soon become brown-field, or legacy code. These projects have been around the block a bit; much of the architecture and design has been solidified. Making big, sweeping changes will impact real users. The term brown-field is often seen as derogatory, especially when it feels like you are slogging through a big ball of mud.

However, not all brown-field projects are a punishment to work in. Michael Feathers, author of Working Effectively With Legacy Code (Pearson), has this to say:

In a well-maintained system, it might take a while to figure out how to make a change, but once you do, the change is usually easy and you feel much more comfortable with the system. In a legacy system, it can take a long time to figure out what to do, and the change is difficult also.1

Feathers defines legacy code as “code without tests.” I prefer an alternate definition: legacy code is simply code where you can no longer discuss the code with the developers who wrote it. In lieu of that communication, you rely on the codebase itself to describe its behavior. If the codebase clearly communicates its intentions, it is a well-maintained system that is easy to work in. It may take a little bit of time to understand ...

Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
and much more.

Read now

Unlock full access

More than 5,000 organizations count on O’Reilly

AirBnbBlueOriginElectronic ArtsHomeDepotNasdaqRakutenTata Consultancy Services

QuotationMarkO’Reilly covers everything we've got, with content to help us build a world-class technology community, upgrade the capabilities and competencies of our teams, and improve overall team performance as well as their engagement.
Julian F.
Head of Cybersecurity
QuotationMarkI wanted to learn C and C++, but it didn't click for me until I picked up an O'Reilly book. When I went on the O’Reilly platform, I was astonished to find all the books there, plus live events and sandboxes so you could play around with the technology.
Addison B.
Field Engineer
QuotationMarkI’ve been on the O’Reilly platform for more than eight years. I use a couple of learning platforms, but I'm on O'Reilly more than anybody else. When you're there, you start learning. I'm never disappointed.
Amir M.
Data Platform Tech Lead
QuotationMarkI'm always learning. So when I got on to O'Reilly, I was like a kid in a candy store. There are playlists. There are answers. There's on-demand training. It's worth its weight in gold, in terms of what it allows me to do.
Mark W.
Embedded Software Engineer

You might also like

Dead Simple Python

Dead Simple Python

Jason C. McDonald
Serious Python

Serious Python

Julien Danjou

Publisher Resources

ISBN: 9781098100650Errata Page