- Name: Lava flow / dead code
- Most frequent scale: Application
“I don’t know what this piece of code is for; It was written before I got here”
- Refers to the flow of code from previous developmental versions which has now hardened into immovable and generally useless piece of code that no one can remember anything about
- Commonly found in systems that originated as research but ended up in production
- It’s often not removed for years in the fear of breaking something
- It’s allowed in small scale rapid research systems
- Prevention includes clear upfront architectural planning and proper documentation