I would be hesitant to just make a broad statement like 'overquoted pice of (bad) software engineering advice ever' just based on your experience.
It's one thing to replace legacy plumbing code (which what you describe is likely just that) with new 5 line plumbing code.
It's quite another to walk through lines and lines of classic ASP code (sub your own 'legacy' language here) that mixes data access with business logic and perfectly meets the businesses needs.
I have found it hard to go to a client and say we will build you a new version of the application but most of the cost is in the rewrite to make the software more "modern" and only a small portion of the cost is new features.
Also, try getting current requirements from business stakeholders who sometimes don't even have a clue what the behind the scene 'magic' is happening in the application but it fits their business needs and gathering requirements amounts to 'do what the app already does'.
I certainly don't disagree with your opinion but I would venture that if Joel's advice were to be treated as a software development pattern, it would generally fit the situation.
It's one thing to replace legacy plumbing code (which what you describe is likely just that) with new 5 line plumbing code.
It's quite another to walk through lines and lines of classic ASP code (sub your own 'legacy' language here) that mixes data access with business logic and perfectly meets the businesses needs.
I have found it hard to go to a client and say we will build you a new version of the application but most of the cost is in the rewrite to make the software more "modern" and only a small portion of the cost is new features.
Also, try getting current requirements from business stakeholders who sometimes don't even have a clue what the behind the scene 'magic' is happening in the application but it fits their business needs and gathering requirements amounts to 'do what the app already does'.
I certainly don't disagree with your opinion but I would venture that if Joel's advice were to be treated as a software development pattern, it would generally fit the situation.