{
  "id": 16752003,
  "title": "Why your code prepares a future that will never arrive (YAGNI)",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/27/pourquoi-ton-code-prepare-un-futur-qui-narrivera-jamais-yagni",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-10-27T14:03:33.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Dev.to",
    "slug": "dev-to",
    "url": "https://dev.to/_notbu7ch/pourquoi-ton-code-prepare-un-futur-qui-narrivera-jamais-yagni-2dik"
  },
  "original_language": "fr",
  "account": "A developer spent a weekend building multi-currency, multi-language, and exportable features into their invoicing app, despite having no immediate need for them. The features included real-time exchange rates, four languages, and export options to three accounting software. However, six weeks later, none of these features had been used, and a change in the exchange rate API caused the app to crash. The developer reflected on this experience, relating it to the \"You Aren't Gonna Need It\" (YAGNI) principle from Extreme Programming, which advises against building features that may not be needed.",
  "summary": "TL;DR I spent a weekend making my multi-currency invoice app (with real-time exchange rates), multi-language (4 languages) and exportable to 3 accounting software. Number of invoices issued in a currency other than the euro: 0. Number of times I changed language: 0. Number of exports: 0. YAGNI (You Aren't Gonna Need It), is: don't build today what you…",
  "key_points": [
    "YAGNI principle discourages building unnecessary future features",
    "Author removed 400 lines of code, replaced with 3-line helper",
    "Simplified invoicing application by focusing on true necessities"
  ],
  "editors_take": "Prioritizing immediate requirements over speculative future needs reduces technical debt and simplifies complex systems by replacing bloated codebases with efficient, focused logic.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}