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Ed Finkler

Ed Finkler is an accomplished professional with a diverse background in software development, mental health advocacy, and education. He pursued a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing from Indiana University South Bend and received education from Trinity School at Greenlawn. Ed has held various key roles in different organizations, including Delmar Software Development as a Software Developer and as a Founder at Open Sourcing Mental Illness. He also served as Principal at Funkatron Productions, Chief Technology Officer at Graph Story, Lead Developer & Head of Developer Culture at Graph Story, Developer at Legalserver, Vice President and Board Member at The New Community School, Partner at Fictive Kin, among other significant positions. Ed's experience ranges from software development to web administration and supervision, showcasing his versatile skill set and active involvement in multiple fields.

Highlights

May 22 · linkedin

"Code duplication increases the risk of errors and mistakes by hindering maintainability." - Andrew Cairns, https://lnkd.in/gfSHcz_f

Oh yes. I have some thoughts....

Code duplication isn't just a minor inconvenience—it’s a major risk that can destabilize your entire codebase. Copying and pasting code for a quick fix might seem like a good idea at the moment, but it leads to a fragile, error-prone system.

When you duplicate code, you’re creating multiple points of failure. If a bug appears in one place, you need to hunt it down and fix it everywhere it appears. This isn't just inefficient; it dramatically increases the chances of missing a spot, leading to inconsistencies and new errors. Every piece of duplicated code is another place where bugs can hide and multiply.

Maintaining a codebase riddled with duplicates is a nightmare. Each time you need to update or refactor, you have to ensure that every instance of the duplicated code is changed. This tedious process can lead to significant overhead, making it difficult to keep the codebase clean and up-to-date.

Moreover, developers new to the project may find it challenging to understand why the same code exists in multiple places, which can slow down onboarding and collaboration.

A codebase full of duplications is fragile. Changes in one part can have unforeseen impacts on other parts, making the system harder to understand and predict. This brittleness means that even minor updates can have catastrophic effects, leading to a lack of confidence in making changes and slower development cycles.

From my own experience, duplicating code led to more headaches and a fragile codebase. Every minor update turned into a scavenger hunt, ensuring all duplicates were changed. Inevitably, some instances got missed, causing new issues. The time saved by copying and pasting code was quickly outweighed by the time spent fixing the problems it created.

Ignoring code duplication isn’t just a technical oversight—it’s a disservice to our customers. They expect reliable, high-quality software. By not adhering to best practices like reducing code duplication, we erode their trust. Customers rely on us to handle these complexities so they don’t have to worry about them. Delivering a product plagued by avoidable errors and instability reflects poorly on our professionalism and competence.

Avoiding code duplication is crucial for maintaining a robust and maintainable codebase. It’s not just about clean code; it’s about delivering quality software and upholding the trust our customers place in us. Don’t let the quick fix today become the big problem tomorrow. Keep it clean, keep it maintainable, and focus on long-term reliability over short-term gains.

Related Questions

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Ed Finkler
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Location

West Lafayette, Indiana