How to Delete Code
summary
Practical rules for finding and removing dead C++: use git blame and grep to spot stale files, run cppcheck and CI builds to find unreachable code, and experiment in compiler explorer or unit-test harnesses before touching trunk. Prefer small, reversible edits and atomic commits so reverts are trivial. One example shows ~400 changes over 10 years vs 35 changes over 18 years; at one contract far more code gets deleted than written as messy layers are peeled away.
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chapters (10)
- 0:00Introduction
- 5:59Dead code exists why
- 15:35Dead code accumulation causes
- 27:43Challenges in deleting code
- 42:58Identifying dead code techniques
- 55:30Safe code to delete types
- 1:01:16Cleaning code and comments
- 1:11:18Best times to delete code
- 1:14:17Integrating deletions how
- 1:17:12Conclusions and call to action
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