Experiences of a technology switch project: we helped our partner company to switch from Delphi, C#, WPF and MS SQL technology to JavaScript.
Just like a salami: go slice by slice!
A few months ago, one of our partner companies asked for our help in a technology switch project: They wanted to switch from Delphi, C#, WPF and MS SQL technology to JavaScript. As most members of the developer team used C# for their work, they contacted Green Fox because of the lack of experience. During the years at Green Fox, and even earlier, as a developer, I have worked on several similar projects. During these projects, I saw many traps and many excellent solutions, and I am collecting all these experience in my next two articles.
Switching to a new programming language is usually a difficult decision for a company. It is a painful process, it might be expensive and time-consuming and, if wrong decisions are made, you might come to a deadlock. On the other hand, there might be significant benefits in the medium term, for example, more satisfied developers, quicker and more efficient development projects, a better rate of return.
Technology switch projects are usually initiated by developers, whose work is made more difficult by the old system over time, so they do not like it. It frequently happens that there is no up-to-date documentation to the technology, old documentation needs to be dug out, or the technology is simply not supported any more. This makes it difficult to change a code, and modifications often break something else. It is not effective, and, on the other hand, might be very frustrating for the developers. In these cases mostly the technology switch is the best solution.
Although it might be an attractive solution to re-write a previous application from scratch, my experience shows that this is one of the biggest mistakes you can make. It is incredibly time-consuming to re-write a 5- or 10-year-old system, you might be almost sure that something will break, and the new system will know less. The old application – despite all its faults – is well-tested, has many features and is impossible to be reproduced within a few months.
So, instead of throwing out the whole system, choose a precisely defined feature, and re-write it with the new technology in a way that fits the other elements of the system. Moreover, it helps us to validate the new technology: What are the advantages compared to the previous system? How much quicker will this function be? How much will the quality improve?
If the first function had been successfully re-written, you may start with the next one. Just like cutting a salami, you re-write the system slice by slice. By the end of the project, only a negligible part of the codebase will have the old technology.
It makes sense to start the technology switch with a feature that:
So you will not only start the technology switch, but you will also make an outdated function more user-friendly – which means that you will enhance the value of the product.
Before you start re-writing a function, create an architecture diagram which shows how the system is constructed, what the main components are and which parts are affected by the technology switch. In the next step, check how the other parts of the system will connect to the new technology.
This knowledge is often missing at companies. In most of our previous projects, we were asked to help in connecting the old system to the new technology.
In my next article I will list the aspects that need to be considered when choosing the new technology.
Download our related case study that describes a technology switch project.
Eleinte minden karrier motiváló, pláne ha valaki vállalkozóként egy igazán izgalmas projekten dolgozhat. De mi történik akkor, ha idővel belefásulsz? Balázzsal ez történt, így ismerkedett meg az IT világgal, azóta pedig már dolgozott a Prezinél majd a Pepperlabsnál is fejlesztőként. Milyen volt számára a karrierváltás és kinek ajánlja a Front-end karriert? Erről is mesél nekünk!
Továbbra is megéri programozást tanulni: azoknak, akik karrierváltóként lépnek erre a pályára, 3 év után az átlagbére már meghaladja a havi bruttó 1,2 millió forintot – derült ki a legfrissebb alumni kutatásunkból. Három év után ugyanis szinte garantált az előléptetés, tízből kilenc bootcampet végzett programozó ekkor már legalább medior pozíciót tölt be.
A fejlesztési igények és a technológiák gyors változása, a minőségi munkaerő hiánya, illetve az értékes szakmai tudással rendelkező kollégák megtartásának nehézsége világszerte komoly kihívások elé állítja a vállalatokat. Hogyan adható egyedi válasz egy globális problémára? Kinek a feladata kezelni ezt, és hogyan érdemes hozzáfogni? Ezeket a kérdéseket jártuk körül Fachs Anitával, a Green Fox vállalati szolgáltatásokért felelős cégvezetőjével.
A technológiai trendek által előidézett iparági változások a kihívások mellett lehetőséget kínálnak a vállalatok számára, hogy növeljék bevételi forrásaikat. Ahhoz azonban, hogy az élen maradjanak, a szervezeteknek lépést kell tartaniuk a fejlődő technológiával, alkalmazottaiknak pedig a szükséges készségekkel.
A rugalmasság mára megkerülhetetlen szerepet kapott a vállalati működésben. Akár növekedés előtt álló üzletágról, akár új technológiai igényről van szó, az időben meghozott döntés hosszú távú versenyelőnyt jelenthet. Ilyen esetre hatékony megoldás egy speciális, vállalati képzés elindítása.
Richárd Németh started programming during his second career change. After graduating from Green Fox, he worked as a front-end developer, then recently changed to a full-stack position, and his current job has taken him to the USA. How does he spend a working day and what skills does he need for his job? Discover the world of full-stack development through Ricsi’s story!
Ádám Pisky-Nagy worked in development policy for 5 years, before graduating from Green Fox Full-stack programmer course in 2019. After the placement, he quickly moved up the ranks and now works as a senior developer. What does it take to become a senior in the programming profession, and what can a career change bring in terms of salary? Get to know Ádám's story!
We believe that by providing up-to-date knowledge we can ensure our students' competitiveness in the labor market. That's why, during our courses, leading developers and recognized experts share their practical experiences with our students on several occasions. James Tang, the software developer at SEON is also one of these experts.
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