
Ask HN: Define software “bloat” - mshenfield
The real world is an ever changing place, and yesterday&#x27;s tools often don&#x27;t make sense for today&#x27;s requirements.  But seems like any library that gets popular enough goes from being the hero of the programming party to &quot;bloated&quot;, and not &quot;minimal&quot;. How do you define &quot;bloat&quot;, and what steps can software designers and engineers take to avoid it? What are some examples of good &quot;minimal&quot; tools?
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usernamebias
Hope this helps. In a recent SPA project I found myself becoming infatuated
with many javascript libraries. It was only after some code review that I
realized I was utilizing just 2 methods from a 100kb+ library. I recreated the
methods in my code and removed the library. Saving a heap of valuable kbs.

I think in this context bloat does not always mean useless. It could mean
unnecessary.

