I recently inherited a large code repository with about 150,000 lines of code, and I've noticed it contains a lot of instances of the terms 'master' and 'slave.' Given the cultural and social implications of these terms, I'm wondering if it's worth the time and effort to remove them. Should I tackle this issue considering both the technical challenges and the impact it might have?
5 Answers
With a repo that size, you could just do a search and replace, but be careful. Check if there are terms like 'parent-child' in use already to avoid confusion later. Maybe do this in a separate branch and see how it goes.
Honestly, 'master' and 'slave' are just words with technical meanings in programming. I don't think you need to stress over changing them. It's fine to keep things as they are.
While I get where you're coming from about the words, I feel like just renaming them isn't a strong solution. If it bothers you, maybe try to think of it as a fun coding challenge to use modern terms in new features instead of a massive overhaul.
True, sometimes just replacing terms isn't enough. Context is key, and some historical uses of these terms don't even scratch the surface of what's bothersome out there.
Changing established terms like 'master' and 'slave' could be seen as unnecessary or problematic, especially if you're new to the codebase. There could be unintended consequences if you don't fully understand the existing architecture. It might be better to prioritize your tasks based on the project's needs rather than getting sidetracked by terminology.
It really depends on whether there are other users or applications relying on this code. If it's just you, go for it. If others depend on it, you might want to think twice about making major changes without a solid reason.
Good point! Unfortunately, there aren't any tests in this repo to check against, so that makes it trickier.