The Case for Writing in Public
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1 min read
One of the most underrated skills in software development is knowing when not to write code. The Case for Writing in Public taught me this lesson the hard way.
What Happened
We spent three sprints building a custom solution for something that already existed as a well-maintained open source library. The "not invented here" syndrome cost us weeks of productivity and introduced bugs we're still fixing.
What I'd Do Differently
- Research existing solutions before writing a single line of code
- Evaluate libraries by their maintenance activity, not their star count
- Prototype with the library first — you can always replace it later
- Accept that someone else's code being "not perfect" is still better than your unwritten code
The best code is the code you didn't have to write, debug, or maintain. Leverage is everything.