Cover and modify, some tips for R package development
I’ve recently been dealing with legacy code refactoring both in theory and in practice: while I’m continuing some work on the igraph R package, I’ve started reading Working Effectively with Legacy Code by Michael Feathers, that had been in my to-read pile for months. In this post, I’ll summarize some ideas from both the book and my work. “Cover and modify” with “characterization tests” When you start modifying your rusty code, how do you ensure you do not break existing and important behaviour inadvertently?
How your code might get rusty, and what you can do about it
Do you ever find yourself working on a codebase that has gotten a bit rusty over time? Or read an old script and have trouble understanding what it does? It happens to me regularly, be it code that I wrote myself, or code I was tasked with, such as the established igraph R package. In this talk, I share some of my strategies to suffer less when renovating a codebase, as well as prevention ideas to make future renovations less likely, or easier.
How to pronounce my name
My last name is Salmon like the fish and the colour, and you can pronounce it like that if you want. My first name, Maëlle, is derived from a Celtic word that means princess or chief. It’s pronounced “Ma-El” as “ma” in “macaroni” and as the Spanish “El”.