What is Enduring Code (And Why It Matters Today)
The key to crafting software that welcomes change and bends without breaking.
In the days of old, software engineers created puzzles.
Like archeologists uncovering the mysteries of old, puzzled as to their purpose, modern developers spend countless hours connecting the dots.
Most professional developers get forced to ask themselves: “How did this get here, and why does it work this way?”
If you’ve been there, you know the frustration of dealing with code that resists change and feels unapproachable. And if you haven’t, don’t be sad.
Your time of frustration is coming, faster than that recruiter can tell you “we’re a family here” at your next interview.
But what if we approached software differently?
Not as something to last forever, but as something to welcome change and evolve. To prioritize adaptability and maintainability, foster collaboration, and empower developers to thrive.
I call this approach Enduring Code.
The Problem with “Durable” Code
Let’s start with the obvious: no code lasts forever.
Technology changes and requirements shift.
All designs are eventually outdated.
But the goal of maintainable software isn’t durability.
It’s welcoming change.
It’s about crafting systems that can bend without breaking and support the developers who work with them.
This is the heart of Enduring Code.
It’s not a set of rules, but a mindset prioritizing 4 pillars:
Adaptability
Maintainability
Reliability
Empathy
The Four Pillars of Enduring Code
To create systems that endure, you need to embrace these four principles:
1. Adaptability
Good software bends without breaking.
It evolves to meet new requirements without collapsing under the weight of its own complexity.
As AI speeds up the amount of code to be produced, the bottleneck becomes not producing the code itself, but the speed at which existing code can be changed.
Modifying and integrating code is the real challenge.
Enduring Code focuses on writing systems that make change easy and predictable.
2. Maintainability
The essence of maintainability is ease of understanding. Code, at its core, should be easy to read, understand and extend.
The primary task of maintaining code is making choices based on our understanding.
You have existing code and domain knowledge, and must make a choice that makes your job easier in the future and unlocks value for customers.
It’s a constant trade-off between:
Balancing quick fixes against long-term solutions
Deciding when to refactor versus rewrite
Choosing between flexibility and simplicity
AI-generated code shifts the job of a developer even more toward curating, improving, and maintaining existing codebases.
This means going beyond just creating code that works.
It means creating code that tells a story, that makes its intentions clear, and that future developers (including yourself) can understand months or years later.
Understanding and improving existing systems will become even more valuable.
3. Reliability
Reliability doesn’t mean never failing.
It means failing gracefully.
It’s about building systems that deliver consistent results.
You create systems that welcome change when you focus on reliability.
Stability gives developers the confidence to innovate without fear.
Enduring code is not about writing timeless code that is never touched or changed.
It’s about writing code that does what it needs to at that point in time.
4. Empathy
Code is written for humans as much as machines.
If code resists understanding it only makes your own job more difficult.
Empathy in coding means thinking about the next developer who will work with your system.
It means being nice to them, even if it is not yourself.
This happens through prioritizing documentation, clear naming and transparent, thoughtful design.
Through empathy you create an environment where developers feel empowered rather than frustrated.
This is key in reducing burnout and fostering collaboration and innovation.
Why Enduring Code Matters Now
The rise of AI in development has shifted the bottleneck from writing code to understanding and maintaining it.
AI can churn out complex algorithms in seconds, but poorly structured code quickly becomes a nightmare to modify or debug.
Enduring Code addresses this head-on.
It focuses on:
Embracing change
Empathy for team members
Empowering future development
It’s not about avoiding change, but creating systems that evolve as fast as the tools and environments around them.
Enduring Code is a mindset that acknowledges the constant evolution of software while providing a framework for managing that change effectively
Try This Today
Want to start applying the principles of Enduring Code? Here are some quick wins you can apply to some of your code:
Adaptability: Identify a piece of code that is difficult to modify. Brainstorm a way to make it easier to change in the future (it doesn’t have to be a big change).
Maintainability: Reorganize a file. Tidy it up by grouping related functions and methods to create a logical structure like a story.
Reliability: Add a simple unit test for something in your code that isn’t covered.
Empathy: Take a piece of code you’ve written recently and ask yourself, “Would I understand this if I read it a year from now?” If no, how can you make it so?
These small steps can make a big difference in crafting maintainable, human-friendly systems.
What’s Next?
In future issues of Maintainable Code Now, we’ll dive deeper into each of these principles, explore real-world examples, and share actionable strategies for tackling legacy codebases for early-career developers.
For now, remember: the goal isn’t perfection. It’s progress.
If this philosophy resonates with you, I invite you to join the Maintainable Code Now community. Subscribe to get weekly insights, practical tips, and real-world examples delivered straight to your inbox. Together, we can make maintainable code the norm, not the exception.
Let’s build systems that welcome change.