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Comment by jussij | Hacker News Reader

My guess is they're counting code from existing packages used to create the site.

So for example, if they used Java, that line count is including the lines of code found in the JDK.

I see no other way of getting to such a large number.

I don't see it approaching that even with the lines of code for their existing packages. For instance, this is old and out of date, but you could extrapolate a ballpark estimate out of it... looks like back in 2007 or so JDK was about 6 million LoC (http://cr.openjdk.java.net/~darcy/OpenJdkDevGuide/OpenJdkDev...). Even if it increased tenfold since then, it's barely making a dent in that 500 million LoC number.

Don't forget to add in the lines of code for the Linux kernel on which they are running and the MySQL database etc etc.

I kept reading the article and on the last you find this gem:

According to one specialist, the Web site contains about 500 million lines of software code. By comparison, a large bank’s computer system is typically about one-fifth that size.

That to me suggests the number is bogus, because it is so obviously a quote from someone who has no idea what they are talking about.

Simply measuring the web site in 'lines of code' as if that's meaningful indicates that it's a quote by someone who is not aware of how modern programming works.

Disagree, perhaps. If you were talking to a New York Times reporter, with an intended lay audience, how would you describe scope issues like this?

And while it's a poor metric, lines of code is not completely useless.

The linux kernel is ~15 million LOC. That also doesn't make a dent in 500 mil.

It's hard to imagine that even those could total more than a small fraction of the purported 500 MLOC. The JDK is only a few million lines of code.

What was the site written in?

Assembly, to protect your privacy.

it's either Java or .net , but it feels more like Java. i'm more interested in knowing what the data layer is made of though.

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