Do you know what does dependency hell means? Are you interested in knowing about the causes of dependency hell? If yes, this is the best article to read for you. Here we will let you know about dependency hell and its causes.
Dependency hell is a colloquial term for ill-defined or difficult dependencies that prevent or hinder software installation. On the other hand, remember that software dependencies are naturally part of software development and are often unavoidable. However, they come with the risk of dependency hell, so let’s first understand why software dependencies should be avoided.
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Software dependencies – How to Avoid them and Why
When you find yourself spending more time fixing dependency issues than writing code, it’s likely that your code is overloaded. The more dependencies your software has, the more you have to manage. This causes a security risk because some of the libraries you use may be out of date, making it harder to find the causes of bugs or other performance issues. Software dependency can have a knock-on effect, negatively impacting users and the bottom line.
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Causes of Dependency Hell
If you already know what dependency hell is, it is now necessary to know its causes in order to avoid negative consequences.
- Libraries, packages, dependencies, boxes, downloadable third party code that you can use in your project – they are an essential part of software development. Without it, we’d all be stuck in constantly implementing the same basic functionality from scratch. While it’s true that libraries without compensating features probably won’t get your attention, there are popular packages available with all the problems mentioned above. Therefore, before implementing any software, it is worth checking via Google whether any developers have complained about the tool/library. The implication from this argument is that the library code you are using may be badly written. We need to avoid this as it results in dependency hell. Your project then goes into a dormant state where problems remain unresolved and security vulnerabilities remain unresolved.Causes of dependency hell.
- Another dangerous sign is documentation that may not exist or is poorly created. Creating excellent code is one thing. Still, telling others about a program’s functionality is a distinct expertise that many independent or small open source maintainers lack. Even if they have this expertise, they may only cover the languages they speak, and often rely on community translations to fill in the gaps.
- Too large a package size, also leads to dependency hell. This is a problem that can be encountered in both front-end and back-end technologies. Libraries that are not created with tree twitching in mind can increase the package size excessively when developing a front-end web application. You may only use a small part of the library’s capabilities but still pay for all of its code, slowing down your site for users. Each dependency in the tree denotes a function that contributes to your application. These dependencies are introduced using static import statements and act as a kind of dead code elimination in modern applications.
Final Remarks
We hope this article helped you discover all you need to know about dependency hell and its causes. If you want to know more or share your views on this topic, you can freely share your opinions in the comments section below.