Code Inheritance

Definitions

1. The body of old code, assumptions, and maintenance obligations a team receives when taking over a system. In engineering slang, code inheritance emphasizes that teams do not only inherit functionality; they inherit history and debt too.

   In plain English: The existing code and baggage a team inherits when taking ownership.

   Example: "The new team underestimated the code inheritance they were accepting when they volunteered to own the legacy billing adapters."

Related Terms

• Boat Anchor
• Code Cave
• Code Cold War
• Code Dinosaur
• Code Kingdom
• Code Orphan
• Code Retirement
• Cut and Run
• Deploy and Disappear
• Hit and Run
• Hot Potato
• Knowledge Silo
• Old Faithful
• Solo Flight
• Take the Wheel
• You Break It You Fix It