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in reply to Program size and effeciency.

PERL is not for effeciency, It is only for getting things to be done

Perl is for getting things done efficiently.

...but duplicating a working program (if it is working) isn't efficient.

The relation of program size to efficiency is a bit obscure, because each time you use Some::XML::Module you're pulling in god knows how many lines of code. Of course, these are LOC that you don't have to write or maintain. In some sort of bogus way the ratio of LOC that you write to LOC that you leverage via use could be considered a measure of efficiency. Sort of.

qq

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Re^2: Program size and effeciency.
by elwarren (Priest) on Jul 08, 2004 at 22:41 UTC
    I understand the boss' reasoning, I just don't like his excuse. It's hard for us to walk away from a challenge like that.

    It's a toss up really. Maybe if the code had used some modules then the bugs in the modules would have been maintained by someone else and you wouldn't have to fix those bugs as they're discovered in your reinvented wheel.

    I'll agree that a complete rewrite is probably overkill though. I think you could satisfy your desire to fix it by refining the old code by rewriting it one block/function/method at a time. I'm sure it will prove just a challenging and maybe more rewarding to be able to show a before and after.