reducing-entropy

A delete-first mindset minimizes codebase size by biasing refactoring decisions toward deletion and simplification. You evaluate changes by final codebase size rather than effort, identifying deletions that preserve behavior while reducing total code.

Use final codebase size as the primary refactoring metric instead of effort or churn. This approach enforces a final-code metric that measures success by total code remaining, encouraging decisions that actively minimize codebase volume.

Apply a deletion-first approach during technical debt cleanup when codebase growth threatens maintainability. It evaluates whether changes reduce total code, prompting you to identify what can be deleted while preserving behavior.

Yes, code minimization techniques apply during feature requests to avoid unnecessary complexity. By evaluating feature implementations against a final-code metric, you ensure changes reduce total code rather than introducing additional bloat.

Software entropy is the gradual increase in codebase complexity and size over time. This approach counters entropy by applying a manual technique that biases toward deletion and simplification, measuring success by final code amount rather than effort.