The cardinal sin of software architecture(functional.computer)
functional.computer
The cardinal sin of software architecture
https://functional.computer/blog/the-cardinal-sin-of-software-architecture
4 comments
Fascinating. The biggest gaps i've been seeing with candidates going through our system design interview is that they lack context on how to architect pub/sub or queue-worker driven patterns.
Too much complexity, they say? Consider TFA's typography.
I'm just so tired. This post is so true. Sure.
And engineers are, these days, so so aware. We are so averse to complexity & systems! We keep falling for Hofstadter's law's second clause but for complexity.
> Hofstadter's law: It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter's law.
Except here,
> People always make things more complex than they ought to be, even when you take into account jauntywunderkind's Hofstradter's corollary.
We're here! It's true! I admit I relent.
But make the flagellation stop. There is such endless disdain for code for coders for systems for complexity.
And there's no anchor points. No one is (publicly) saying, make complex things! No one is advocating any reciprocal advise. This discussion thread never has any positive notes, and discussion about going for big and bold, about maybe tradeoffs or downsides to over valorizing this ridiculously massively popular rabidly spreading incontestable irrefutable Good Advice.
I'm just so tired of this hammer. I feel like we're been living under the hammer of people impressing the tale of too much complexity for a decade now. That the engineering cultures have this message loud and clear (while still jauntywundrkind's corollary'ing).
And that in many ways we have browbeat ourselves into being sad cowards. For so many good reasons!! I respect the cause of anti-complexity greatly!. Because there are so many signs of bad unnecessary evil & spreading unmanaged complexity. Everywhere. Because the world is too complex.
But man I am just so sad how polarly aligned most people are against complexity, I am so sad that it has crushed so many courages that maybe aren't the most wise but that might have been glorious. I'm so tired of these posts advocating such a strongly felt widely held taboo, when there's just no other side, when there's no other visible rallying points anywhere. There has to be more than huddling together in the dark afraid.
And engineers are, these days, so so aware. We are so averse to complexity & systems! We keep falling for Hofstadter's law's second clause but for complexity.
> Hofstadter's law: It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter's law.
Except here,
> People always make things more complex than they ought to be, even when you take into account jauntywunderkind's Hofstradter's corollary.
We're here! It's true! I admit I relent.
But make the flagellation stop. There is such endless disdain for code for coders for systems for complexity.
And there's no anchor points. No one is (publicly) saying, make complex things! No one is advocating any reciprocal advise. This discussion thread never has any positive notes, and discussion about going for big and bold, about maybe tradeoffs or downsides to over valorizing this ridiculously massively popular rabidly spreading incontestable irrefutable Good Advice.
I'm just so tired of this hammer. I feel like we're been living under the hammer of people impressing the tale of too much complexity for a decade now. That the engineering cultures have this message loud and clear (while still jauntywundrkind's corollary'ing).
And that in many ways we have browbeat ourselves into being sad cowards. For so many good reasons!! I respect the cause of anti-complexity greatly!. Because there are so many signs of bad unnecessary evil & spreading unmanaged complexity. Everywhere. Because the world is too complex.
But man I am just so sad how polarly aligned most people are against complexity, I am so sad that it has crushed so many courages that maybe aren't the most wise but that might have been glorious. I'm so tired of these posts advocating such a strongly felt widely held taboo, when there's just no other side, when there's no other visible rallying points anywhere. There has to be more than huddling together in the dark afraid.
Fully agreed. This might be one of those areas where people not knowing it's possible can lead them to far worse solutions. Generated columns in databases, computing things based on row data, and things like materialized views, are so, so useful.