Standing On The Shoulders Of Midgets

AntiPattern Name: StandingOnTheShouldersOfMidgets

Type: Design | Organizational

Problem: You're working in an organization that dictates that you reuse code in libraryX to solve the problem you're working on. Looking at this API, you find a jumbled mess of cluttered concepts and weird hacks, or it doesn't do half of what you want it to do.

Context: This pattern can show up not just with code libraries, but also with general architectures and databases. For example, the organization might be using a hand rolled messaging system with various limitations, or a hand rolled database with peculiar semantics, or a complicated/convoluted/contorted project management methodology.

Forces:

Hubris: The developer/manager/owner of libraryX wants everyone to use it, regardless of how bad it is. They wrote the library, and you better use it!
Laziness: Its too much work to change libraryX, and besides, everyone who uses it would have to change as well, so just go through the gynmastics and stop complaining!
Fear: We don't know what could happen if you change libraryX, and we're afraid of what might happen if you do.

Supposed Solution: Go through the code gymnastics to set up arguments to libraryX as it wants them

Resulting Context:

You end up feeling dirty about the code you wrote to interface with libraryX.

Seductive forces: Code reuse is a good thing, right? Re-inventing the wheel is a bad thing, yes?

Why, despite the seductiveness, this is actually a BadThing:
- Your code ends up being difficult to understand and maintain
- Strong coupling between your code and the libraryX code
- Further entrenchment of libraryX as an essential library for everyone to use

Replacement positive patterns:

RefactorMercilessly: Refactor out the ugliness from the public API to libraryX
AdapterPattern: Write an adaptor around the public API to libraryX that hides the ugliness. Possibly introduce this adaptor into the library so other people can easily reuse it.

Design Rationale: Midget libraries can evolve in all sorts of ways.

The public API was poorly thought out
When the code started to smell, no refactoring was done
...others?

Applicable Positive Patterns: AdapterPattern

AntiPatternCategory: DevelopmentAntiPattern, ArchitectureAntiPattern, ManagementAntiPattern

Also Known As:

Examples in the Literature:

Examples in Practice:

--LyleHayhurst

CategoryAntiPattern CategoryArchitectureAntiPattern CategoryManagementAntiPattern