The Five-Thousand-Line File
The article discusses the concept of the 'god file' in software development, which refers to a large file that has grown to encompass multiple unrelated functions. This file becomes difficult to maintain and refactor, as it is often seen as 'fine' despite its size. The author emphasizes the importance of coherence in file organization and suggests that splitting files should be based on their concerns rather than their line count.
- ▪A god file is a large code file that has absorbed many unrelated functions over time.
- ▪New developers often add to the god file because it contains existing functions, leading to further growth.
- ▪The article highlights that not all large files are problematic; coherence is key to determining if a file is a god file.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
try { if(localStorage) { let currentUser = localStorage.getItem('current_user'); if (currentUser) { currentUser = JSON.parse(currentUser); if (currentUser.id === 171498) { document.getElementById('article-show-container').classList.add('current-user-is-article-author'); } } } } catch (e) { console.error(e); } Ian Johnson Posted on May 22 The Five-Thousand-Line File #webdev #softwareengineering #programming #agents Every team has one. Sometimes it is called utils.ts or helpers.py. Sometimes it has the name of a domain concept that originally meant something specific and has since absorbed everything tangentially related. The file is large enough that nobody opens it casually. It has multiple maintainers, each of whom understands a different third of it.
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