There's something deeply personal about the code we write. Each function, each variable, each carefully crafted algorithm represents a moment in time when we solved a problem, when we created something from nothing. Sometimes, it even feels like love—a quiet affection for the things we've built with care.
I found myself staring at a 200-line function yesterday. It was working perfectly, handling edge cases I hadn't even considered when I first wrote it. But it was also doing too much, violating principles I now hold dear. The refactor was necessary, but deleting it felt like erasing a part of my journey—like saying goodbye to something I once loved.
The Emotional Weight of Code
Code isn't just logic and syntax—it's a reflection of our thinking process, our problem-solving approach, and our growth as developers. When we delete code, we're not just removing lines from a file; we're acknowledging that we've evolved beyond that particular solution. Letting go can feel like letting go of a relationship: bittersweet, but necessary for growth.
"The best code is the code you don't have to write, but sometimes the best learning comes from the code you have to delete—even if you loved it once."
The Refactoring Dilemma
Refactoring forces us to confront our past decisions. That clever workaround from six months ago? It's now technical debt. That optimization that saved us 50ms? It's now making the code harder to understand. We may have loved those solutions at the time, but love doesn't always mean holding on forever.
But here's the beautiful part: every deletion is also an opportunity. An opportunity to apply what we've learned, to write cleaner code, to make the system more maintainable. The old code served its purpose, and now it's time for something better. Love for our craft means knowing when to let go.
// Old code - it worked, but...
function processUserData(userData, preferences, settings, options) {
// 200 lines of complex logic
// that does everything
// and nothing well
}
// New code - focused and clear
function validateUser(user) { /* ... */ }
function applyPreferences(user, prefs) { /* ... */ }
function configureSettings(user, settings) { /* ... */ }Moving Forward
Letting go of old code is hard because it represents our growth—and sometimes, the love and effort we poured into it. But growth is exactly why we should embrace the deletion. Each refactor, each simplification, each deletion is proof that we're becoming better developers.
So next time you find yourself hesitating to delete that working but messy code, remember: you're not losing something—you're making room for something better. Love your code, but love your growth even more. And that's exactly what growth looks like.