I think it's a reference to the book "How buildings learn". I haven't read the whole book but as far as I have read it goes like this:
people try to guess what the good building supposed to be and build it but later they have a change of heart or either some other people move to that building and have completely different outlooks of what their home should be like. Author argues there is levels to buildings and we should build bottom levels in a way that won't hinder later changes to upper layers because the bottom levels are unchangeable and you would be better off destroying and rebuilding it if you want to change those bottom layers.
Software seems to be related in a sense that the bottom layers of your app should be developed in a way that won't be in the way of developing new features because if that happens you would need to rewrite from ground up.
I've read Brand's book and your summary seems accurate. And isn't it sometimes said of still good looking old software: The extensions which have been added happen not to contend with the original core architecture.
I think it’s because this is an analogy that’s used explicitly and implicitly by non technical people. So I use the analogy in order to refute it.
What I say is, software is almost nothing like a building. Software doesn’t get built once; it grows over time. Even if you don’t change the functionality, external factors like security updates and changes in fashion force you to continually update it over time. A much better analogy, if you need one, is a garden or park.
mahdi7d1|3 years ago
bhaney|3 years ago
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33333333
asplake|3 years ago
a9h74j|3 years ago
mahdi7d1|3 years ago
doctor_eval|3 years ago
What I say is, software is almost nothing like a building. Software doesn’t get built once; it grows over time. Even if you don’t change the functionality, external factors like security updates and changes in fashion force you to continually update it over time. A much better analogy, if you need one, is a garden or park.
midiguy|3 years ago
withinboredom|3 years ago