The good thing about reinventing the wheel is that you can get a round one.
--Douglas Crockford
Don't Reinvent the Wheel
11–20 of 71 posts
Re: Don't Reinvent the Wheel
#12I don't think it is just about improving, reinventing or redesigning something. Each problem has its own issues and maybe different in enough unique ways that its better to start from scratch every time so you solve the problem fully with out being trapped by another solution. Then decide to pick up a well known tool or make your own that fits.
I think this saying is an unfortunate one and becomes more misleading as newer and newer "wheels" keep coming out.
Re: Don't Reinvent the Wheel
#13Generally when people use that phrase, they mean don't recreate something that has been implemented if you are not going to make it faster, more modular, contain more features, etc.
Saying that developing GIT is reinventing SVN seems problematic. Both are very different version control systems. GIT isn't simply reimplementing what SVN does.
Re: Don't Reinvent the Wheel
#14Don't reinvent the wheel if you have no clear reason / vision to do so. Period.
Also most "re-inventions" are driven by a lack of understanding of the existing solutions or the non existing faith to stick to conventions. Many of the conventions are probably a legacy and should be "attacked" BUT if you do that, have a clear vision and reason to do so. Just don't go the road because it looks easier. It won't.
Re: Don't Reinvent the Wheel
#15It's nitpicky, but the second time I saw "itself" written as "it's self" I cringed extra-hard.
Its a good point but less relevant to the discussion than some of the other comments here, and currently has 3x the points of all other posts in this thread.
Don't just upvote just because you agree, upvote because a post contributes to the discussion!
Re: Don't Reinvent the Wheel
#16It's nitpicky, but the second time I saw "itself" written as "it's self" I cringed extra-hard.
At first, I thought he was trying to make a joke. "The phrase it's self is flawed." In bold! The needle just snapped off of the irony meter.
Re: Don't Reinvent the Wheel
#17Don't reinvent the wheel. But by all means, upgrade and evolve the wheel.
Re: Don't Reinvent the Wheel
#18It's nitpicky, but the second time I saw "itself" written as "it's self" I cringed extra-hard.
Why? You knew precisely what he meant, which is the whole point of English.
Re: Don't Reinvent the Wheel
#19It's nitpicky, but the second time I saw "itself" written as "it's self" I cringed extra-hard.
Its a good point but less relevant to the discussion than some of the other comments here, and currently has 3x the points of all other posts in this thread. Don't just upvote just because you agree, upvote because a post contributes to the discussion!
I actually agree, and would probably downvote it if I saw it at +16 and it weren't my comment!
(Actually, is there HN etiquette on that? If I think a comment is ok, but doesn't deserve to be as high up as it is, can I strategically downvote it? Or should I up/downvote comments without regard to their present score?)
Re: Don't Reinvent the Wheel
#20It's nitpicky, but the second time I saw "itself" written as "it's self" I cringed extra-hard.
Its a good point but less relevant to the discussion than some of the other comments here, and currently has 3x the points of all other posts in this thread. Don't just upvote just because you agree, upvote because a post contributes to the discussion!
I'm not so sure...
When a blog post has basic grammatical/spelling errors, it means that the writer didn't bother to do any significant copy-editing. If the author can't take the time to copy-edit their post, why should we take the time to read it? The presence of obvious errors sends a signal that either the author's thoughts are disorganized, or he doesn't take them seriously enough to make sure they're expressed correctly.
Disclaimer: I'm an English major, and I mean this as constructive criticism!