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Explore the treacherous world of legacy codebases in this 51-minute conference talk that draws parallels between maintaining old software systems and navigating ancient temples filled with mystery and danger. Learn essential techniques for safely working with legacy code without causing system collapse, including source control archaeology methods to understand code history and evolution. Discover safe refactoring strategies that minimize risk while improving code quality, and master the art of introducing comprehensive tests in hostile environments where existing code lacks proper test coverage. Understand how to identify "cursed" files that exhibit high churn rates or contain hidden dependencies that could derail modernization efforts. Gain practical tools and tactics for extracting valuable business logic from dusty monoliths and mysterious inherited repositories, while developing strategies to gradually modernize systems without losing years of embedded business knowledge, customer trust, and operational quirks that no complete rewrite could replicate.
