A recent project got me thinking about the old trope that, upon getting involved in an existing project, the first thing any developer wants to do is rewrite it.

Obviously, that’s not always true, and in fact, I’ve rarely been tempted. But the following situation made the thought cross my mind, and it also led me to realize the reasons I didn’t bite.

Let’s talk about it, but first, I’ll talk more generally about rewriting codes, the potential benefits, and the reasons it’s typically best not to.