10 Reasons Why You Should Not Rewrite Your Codebase In Another Language

Allow me to speculate; you’ve been captivated by the capabilities of a new language and are considering overhauling your current production codebase to accommodate it. Alternatively, you might find yourself in a more challenging situation: a newly hired lead developer insists on transitioning your existing codebase to a language they’re familiar with. And this is exactly what happened to a startup I know. The reason given by the new head of technology was that the new language can attract more talents (Which was one of the most stupid things I’ve ever heard).

While there are instances where such a move might seem warranted — for instance, if your current codebase is chaotic, crafted by inexperienced hands, or the current language lacks essential frameworks crucial for business success — proceeding with such a transition should be approached cautiously, if at all.

Drawing from experience, it’s evident that in most cases, this proposition can be met with skepticism. I’ve compiled ten compelling reasons that serve as cautionary insights into why altering your existing codebase to a different language may not be the wisest course of action.

Cost and Resources

Rewriting a codebase is a significant undertaking that requires a considerable investment of time, effort, and resources. It involves rewriting, testing, and debugging every feature, which can strain budgets and stretch timelines. Imagine being a startup with limited available resources, would it be wise to spend your time and resources on rewriting code (which adds close to no value in most cases) instead of validating new ideas and improving features?

In larger companies where time and effort resources is not a scarce, you would still need a very strong reason to refactor a codebase into another language, because doing that with a production code is more like changing a car’s engine will its moving and carrying people on board.

In most cases, the language reason alone is not a strong enough case, unless you found a much stronger reason to rewrite the entire project, then you would have the luxury to choose another language.

Disruption to Development:

A rewrite can disrupt ongoing development efforts, causing delays in delivering new features or addressing critical issues. Development teams may find themselves divided between maintaining the existing codebase and working on the rewrite, leading to inefficiencies. In the startup I mentioned earlier, after a year in trying to rewrite the project in a new language, they ended up having two different tech stacks, two different teams, two different backlogs just because they have multiple languages in production, and for no good reason. Imagine the overhead in managing two languages, frameworks, teams, infrastructure just because a reckless decision was made 1 year ago.

Risk of Bugs and Regression:

Translating code from one language to another introduces the risk of introducing new bugs or regressing existing functionality. Even with thorough testing, it’s challenging to ensure that the rewritten code behaves exactly like the original. Imagine having a problem in a certain language, you attempt to solve it using your understanding of that specific language using specific library or specific design pattern. You change language, now you need similar libraries, design pattern that doesn’t apply to that language, or that you would tackle the problem differently in first place due to language capabilities. Literal migration from one language to another is always a ground for new bugs. This is unavoidable without spending extra efforts understanding the reason behind the problems the code trying to solve.

Loss of Domain Knowledge

Over time, developers accumulate valuable domain knowledge about the existing codebase. They become language experts. A rewrite can result in the loss of this knowledge as developers shift their focus to the new language and framework, potentially leading to gaps in understanding and decision-making.

Compatibility and Integration Issues:

Integrating a new codebase with existing systems, libraries, and third-party services can be complex. Compatibility issues may arise, requiring additional effort to resolve and potentially disrupting workflows.

Learning Curve:

Adopting a new language and framework requires time for developers to ramp up their skills and become proficient. During this learning curve, productivity may decrease, and there’s a risk of making mistakes due to unfamiliarity with the new tools. Remember its not the syntax you are learning when you are learning a new language. You are learning its capabilities, frameworks, libraries, design patterns, communities… etc.

Potential Performance Trade-offs:

While the new language may offer performance benefits in some areas, it’s essential to consider potential trade-offs. Certain features or optimizations present in the original language may not have direct equivalents in the new language, leading to performance differences that may not be immediately apparent.

Community and Ecosystem Support:

Mature programming languages often have well-established communities and ecosystems with robust libraries, frameworks, and tools. Switching to a less mature or niche language may limit access to these resources, making it harder to find solutions to common problems or receive support from the community.

Uncertain ROI:

Despite the initial promise of improved maintainability, performance, or scalability, the return on investment (ROI) of a code rewrite is often uncertain. It’s challenging to accurately predict the long-term benefits and whether they will outweigh the costs and risks involved. Remember, that code is just a tool for the business success, and not an essential part of it. in most of the cases, you can achieve the business success with any language. It should all depend on the factors like existing skills-set, know-how, maturity, and nature of product.

Opportunity Cost:

Finally, perhaps the most significant reason to reconsider a code rewrite is the opportunity cost. The time and resources spent on rewriting could be invested in other areas, such as optimizing existing code, adding new features, or addressing technical debt, which may yield more immediate and tangible benefits.

Conclusion

In conclusion, while the allure of rewriting a codebase in another language may be strong, it’s essential to approach such decisions with caution. Before embarking on a rewrite, carefully weigh the potential benefits against the costs, risks, and challenges outlined above. In many cases, alternative strategies such as refactoring, optimization, or incremental improvements may offer a more pragmatic approach to achieving your development goals without the upheaval of a full rewrite.