Ask HN: Define software “bloat”

1 pointmshenfield1 comment

The real world is an ever changing place, and yesterday's tools often don't make sense for today's requirements. But seems like any library that gets popular enough goes from being the hero of the programming party to "bloated", and not "minimal". How do you define "bloat", and what steps can software designers and engineers take to avoid it? What are some examples of good "minimal" tools?

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Hope this helps. In a recent SPA project I found myself becoming infatuated with many javascript libraries. It was only after some code review that I realized I was utilizing just 2 methods from a 100kb+ library. I recreated the methods in my code and removed the library. Saving a heap of valuable kbs.

I think in this context bloat does not always mean useless. It could mean unnecessary.

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