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I'm building a big, very complex piece of open-source software, and it's killing me trying to make what I have as "clean" as it needs to be.

What I want to know is: If there is an undetected flaw in my program and/or my code cleanliness (is that a word?), can that harm my reputation?

Likewise, is it bad that I've reused code from an already open-source app but have rewritten it my way?

Thanks.

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  • If some code exists, it has bugs. Well, unless it has formal proof of correctness, but it can have bugs too. Commented Apr 4, 2015 at 11:08
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    Don't forget "bugs" in the requirements. Even formal proofs can't help you there. Commented Apr 4, 2015 at 11:09
  • Sometimes when a project is sufficiently big or too complicated, it needs multiple eyes to find solutions. This is distinct from the FOSS "eyeballs" - you need some highly skilled and dedicated persons to help you, not from some random passerbys or cynics. Commented Apr 4, 2015 at 11:39
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    "is it bad that I've reused code from an already open-source app" - not as long as you followed the license terms of that app. You did not read them, otherwise you would not have asked, I guess? So go and read them. Now. No excuses. Commented Apr 5, 2015 at 6:46

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No. There is no such thing as a flawless program, so don't aim for that.

What you should aim for in for a first release is good/thorough documentation, some automated tests, one or more places for people to tell you about any problems they have or features they'd like to see, and a clear/prominent description of what your program library is and is not supposed to accomplish. And it should actually work, obviously.

Regarding reputation, I would expect people to care more about how you respond to bug reports/feature requests and how your program evolves rather than how pristine it might be at version 1.0. If you have at least the things I mentioned above, you'll be in a good position to respond well to all the input you'll inevitably get.

Reusing code from another app is fine if the license allowed it and you follow all the license terms. I would also try to attribute it somewhere even the license doesn't require it; that's just more polite.

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    As an extreme example of my point about reputation, Linus Torvalds has the reputation that he does because of the stuff he says, not because of some imperfection in Linux or git. Commented Apr 4, 2015 at 11:45

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