Building Systems That Stay Understandable

Software rarely becomes difficult because of one large decision. More often, complexity arrives gradually through many small decisions that seemed reasonable at the time.

A new abstraction is introduced to solve a recurring problem. A configuration option is added because one feature needs different behaviour. Another service appears because the existing service has become too large.

Eventually, the system works, but understanding it becomes expensive.

The First Layer of Complexity

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The interesting part is not that complexity exists. Every sufficiently large system has complexity. The real question is whether that complexity is intentional and understandable.

A useful architecture should make the common path obvious while keeping the unusual paths discoverable.

When Abstractions Start Fighting Back

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Consider a simple example:

const result = await processRequest(request);
 
if (!result.success) {
  throw new Error(result.error);
}

Image Testing

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