This Month in React

Rewrites! Everyone wants to do one, but the software industry is littered with examples of failed rewrites. Our host Carl Vitullo is joined by Mark Erikson and Sunil Pai to talk shop about what they’ve looked like in our careers, and how to help make sure they’ll be successful.
Sunil Pai has loomed large in the React ecosystem for years, working on the core team, and he’s now building https://partykit.io. Mark Erikson needs no introduction! He’s maintained Redux and Redux Toolkit for years, is currently building http://replay.io, and has been a fixture of the Reactiflux community since the early days.
Join us and we’ll help you avoid the worst of the many footguns when rewriting software.

@threepointone / ⁠threepointone⁠@m.webtoo.ls
@acemarke
@reactiflux
@vcarl_

Topics discussed:

[00:01:11] First rewrite
[00:02:52] Some web dev history
[00:03:54] Mark's refactor experience
[00:06:36] Zero cost feedback loops
[00:07:26] Sunil's two largest rewrites
[00:10:51] Mark's experience, government project timelines
[00:12:59] Replay, Mark's current work
[00:19:29] Rewrites on small teams
[00:20:11] Suspense rewrite at Facebook
[00:24:51] Tooling support to make rewrites work
[00:28:56] Zero cost feedback loops, revisited
[00:35:27] Automation as a way to enable communication
[00:36:32] How to evaluate a possible rewrite
[00:40:09] Smell tests for justifications
[00:44:45] Joel's Spolksy's cultural impact on rewrites
[00:46:23] Readability as a justification for rewriting
[00:50:15] Software lifespan

Show Notes

Rewrites! Everyone wants to do one, but the software industry is littered with examples of failed rewrites. Our host Carl Vitullo is joined by Mark Erikson and Sunil Pai to talk shop about what they’ve looked like in our careers, and how to help make sure they’ll be successful.
Sunil Pai has loomed large in the React ecosystem for years, working on the core team, and he’s now building https://partykit.io. Mark Erikson needs no introduction! He’s maintained Redux and Redux Toolkit for years, is currently building http://replay.io, and has been a fixture of the Reactiflux community since the early days.
Join us and we’ll help you avoid the worst of the many footguns when rewriting software.
Topics discussed:
  • [00:01:11] First rewrite
  • [00:02:52] Some web dev history
  • [00:03:54] Mark's refactor experience
  • [00:06:36] Zero cost feedback loops
  • [00:07:26] Sunil's two largest rewrites
  • [00:10:51] Mark's experience, government project timelines
  • [00:12:59] Replay, Mark's current work
  • [00:19:29] Rewrites on small teams
  • [00:20:11] Suspense rewrite at Facebook
  • [00:24:51] Tooling support to make rewrites work
  • [00:28:56] Zero cost feedback loops, revisited
  • [00:35:27] Automation as a way to enable communication
  • [00:36:32] How to evaluate a possible rewrite
  • [00:40:09] Smell tests for justifications
  • [00:44:45] Joel's Spolksy's cultural impact on rewrites
  • [00:46:23] Readability as a justification for rewriting
  • [00:50:15] Software lifespan
  • (00:00) - Introductions
  • (01:11) - First rewrite
  • (02:52) - Some web dev history
  • (03:54) - Mark's refactor experience
  • (06:36) - Zero cost feedback loops
  • (07:26) - Sunil's two largest rewrites
  • (10:51) - Mark's experience, government project timelines
  • (12:59) - Replay, Mark's current work
  • (19:29) - Rewrites on small teams
  • (20:11) - Suspense rewrite at Facebook
  • (24:51) - Tooling support to make rewrites work
  • (28:56) - Zero cost feedback loops, revisited
  • (35:27) - Automation as a way to enable communication
  • (36:32) - How to evaluate a possible rewrite
  • (40:09) - Smell tests for justifications
  • (44:45) - Joel's Spolksy's cultural impact on rewrites
  • (46:23) - Readability as a justification for rewriting
  • (50:15) - Software lifespan
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Creators and Guests

Producer
Carl Vitullo
Solopreneur just vibing, posts are probably bullshit. Community lead at Reactiflux, the largest chat community of React professionals.

What is This Month in React?

How busy professionals stay on top of the React ecosystem. We give you a 1 hour recap of the latest news and nuance in React's development and ecosystem, upcoming conferences, and open source releases. New episodes the first week of every month, with live recordings on the last Wednesday of every month in the Reactiflux stage.

Hosted Mark Erikson (Redux maintainer), Carl Vitullo (startup veteran), and Mo Khazali (head of mobile at Theodo). See something for us? Post to #tech-reads-and-news