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Many of today's apps & websites are built ''inefficiently'' and become worse over time. They take ever more ''computing power''{{x|such as CPU usage, RAM, disk storage space, and battery power}}, for nearly the ''same'' amount of features & functionality. The software eventually becomes '''too slow''' for older devices - | Many of today's apps & websites are built ''inefficiently'' and become worse over time. They take ever more ''computing power''{{x|such as CPU usage, RAM, disk storage space, and battery power}}, for nearly the ''same'' amount of features & functionality. The software eventually becomes '''too slow''' for older devices - {{light|even when there's nothing physically wrong with the older devices}}. | ||
==Examples== | ==Examples== | ||
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Hotmail has become slower with every update. While there has been ''some'' increase in features for the user, all of them could have been implemented far more efficiently. {{x|Their entire JavaScript codebase probably needs to be refactored from the ground up. They seem to be relying on complex APIs to do simple things.}} | Hotmail has become slower with every update. While there has been ''some'' increase in features for the user, all of them could have been implemented far more efficiently. {{x|Their entire JavaScript codebase probably needs to be refactored from the ground up. They seem to be relying on complex APIs to do simple things.}} | ||
Gmail is similar | Gmail is similar. There used to be a "basic HTML" version that was extremely fast & responsive, but it was discontinued in March 2024. <!--[[Letter:Google:Gmail Basic HTML|this letter]].--> | ||
===Video apps=== | ===Video apps=== | ||
TikTok is known to slow down phones, decrease battery life{{x|even when the app isn't open - this suggests that something intensive{{x|user data collection / tracking, perhaps?}} is running in the background}}, and use a lot of storage space. Technically there is no justification for this. If you look at all of TikTok's features, almost all of them{{x|except a few advanced video effects that aren't used often}} could run far more efficiently (even on older phones), if the app was coded properly. | TikTok is known to slow down phones, decrease battery life{{x|even when the app isn't open - this suggests that something intensive{{x|user data collection / tracking, perhaps?}} is running in the background}}, and use a lot of storage space. Technically there is no justification for this. If you look at all of TikTok's features, almost all of them{{x|except a few advanced video effects that aren't used often}} could run far more efficiently{{light|(even on older phones)}}, if the app was coded properly. | ||
YouTube generally runs a lot smoother on the same phone, with the same video quality. However, YouTube is known to be slow on some desktop computers{{x|This may also be the fault of web browsers{{x|such as Chrome and Firefox, especially on Linux}}that don't use GPU-accelerated video codecs, and thus have to rely 100% on CPU. When any scripts load on the page, this occupies the CPU, causing the video to stall for a few seconds at a time.}}. | YouTube generally runs a lot smoother on the same phone, with the same video quality. However, YouTube is known to be slow on some desktop computers{{x|This may also be the fault of web browsers{{x|such as Chrome and Firefox, especially on Linux}}that don't use GPU-accelerated video codecs, and thus have to rely 100% on CPU. When any scripts load on the page, this occupies the CPU, causing the video to stall for a few seconds at a time.}}. | ||
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Some of this is data tracking, but not all of it. There's also the way most web developers build websites: with layers and layers of complex tools/frameworks just to do simple things. {{x|There's a common misconception that tools are saving time for the developer, when often they do the opposite in the long run.}} A web developer might even be unaware of how slow their website really is, because they're developing it on a brand-new computer with an ultra-fast internet connection (which most people don't have). | Some of this is data tracking, but not all of it. There's also the way most web developers build websites: with layers and layers of complex tools/frameworks just to do simple things. {{x|There's a common misconception that tools are saving time for the developer, when often they do the opposite in the long run.}} A web developer might even be unaware of how slow their website really is, because they're developing it on a brand-new computer with an ultra-fast internet connection (which most people don't have). | ||
==Why it's a problem== | |||
People are effectively forced to buy new electronics, far sooner than they would otherwise need to. This makes life unnecessarily '''expensive''', and takes a heavy toll on the '''environment'''. | |||
==Awareness== | ==Awareness== | ||
Most people are probably unaware that code bloat even exists. It's commonly accepted that computers just get "slower" over time - even though there's no physical reason why this has to happen. Circuit boards aren't cars - they don't slow down as they get old. It's the ''software'' that becomes slow. | Most people are probably unaware that code bloat even exists. It's commonly accepted that computers just get "slower" over time - even though there's no physical reason why this has to happen. Circuit boards aren't cars - they don't slow down as they get old. It's the ''software'' that becomes slow. | ||
==What causes code bloat== | |||
* Most code bloat is probably from widespread bad practices in software development. {{en}} | |||
* ''Some'' code bloat is done intentionally by corporations: either to promote [[planned obsolescence]], or to collect user data, or both. However, corporations are only ''part'' of the problem; non-corporate [[open-source]] software projects can be just as bloated. | |||
No matter if it's due to malice or just bad practice, the effects are the same. | |||
==Solutions== | ==Solutions== | ||
{{empty}} | {{empty}} | ||
==Petitions== | |||
<!--{{petitions}}--> | |||
<!--* [[Letter:Google:Gmail Basic HTML]] OUTDATED--> | |||
{{empty}} | |||
==See also== | |||
* [[Planned obsolescence]] | |||
==External links== | |||
* [https://www.positech.co.uk/cliffsblog/2022/06/05/code-bloat-has-become-astronomical/ Code bloat has become astronomical] | |||
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YpFGkG-u1w Where Does Bad Code Come From? - YouTube] |