legacy code
Predecessor's programming remains
Legacy code is software inherited from earlier development—code that remains in use but was written by others, in older styles, or for outdated systems.
The term usually carries negative connotations: legacy code is often poorly documented, difficult to maintain, and risky to modify.
Nobody wants to touch the legacy code.
In some contexts, legacy simply means existing: We need to support legacy systems during the migration.
Formally advised against using
- outdatedNo longer in use
- obsoleteNo longer in use
- antiquatedOld and outdated
- outmodedNo longer in fashion
end-of-life · unsupported · unmaintained · archaic · abandoned · orphaned · COBOL · FORTRAN
Accumulated coding shortcuts
- antipatternsCounterproductive recurring solutions
- couplingJoint between systems
- complexityState of being complicated
- unmaintainableCannot be kept functional
buggy · inefficient · bloatware · bit rot · patchwork · hotfixes · rework · kludge
Preserving working condition
- refactoringCode improvement, same behavior
- migrationMovement to new territory
- integrationCombining into a whole
- compatibilityMutual suitability between things
documentation · debugging · patches · updates · APIs · interfaces · version control · repository
deprecated
Formally advised against using
- outdatedNo longer in use
- obsoleteNo longer in use
- antiquatedOld and outdated
outmoded · end-of-life · unsupported · unmaintained · archaic · abandoned · orphaned · COBOL · FORTRAN · mainframe
technical debt
Accumulated coding shortcuts
- antipatternsCounterproductive recurring solutions
- couplingJoint between systems
- complexityState of being complicated
unmaintainable · buggy · inefficient · bloatware · bit rot · patchwork · hotfixes · rework · kludge · workaround
maintenance
Preserving working condition
- refactoringCode improvement, same behavior
- migrationMovement to new territory
- integrationCombining into a whole
compatibility · documentation · debugging · patches · updates · APIs · interfaces · version control · repository · modernization
- antipatternstechnical debt, cargo cult, golden hammer, silver bullet, over-engineering
- software developmentcoding, programming, bug, debug, debugging
- vulnerabilitiesvulnerability, insecurity, weakness, self-doubt, flaw
- codefunction, variable, array, class, method
- programmingvariables, functions, for, function, debugger
- code problemstech debt, technical debt, bugs, hacks, cruft