The 'never rewrite' rule is obsolete: AI-assisted rewrites to Go/Rust now pay off
esrtweet · x · 2026-10-14
esrtweet argues the old rule "don't rewrite code in another language" is obsolete: manual rewrites inevitably introduced bugs and regression tests were weak. Today AI can do the rewriting, and well-run projects already have high-coverage regression tests as a safety net.
His practice: whenever he needs major surgery on a Python or C project, he has an AI lift the code to Go or Rust for performance or memory safety — "this has never failed to be a functional improvement." A rebuttal to the quote's "if it ain't broke, don't rewrite it" stance.
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