There's a quick, interesting note over on one of the php|Architect weblogs this morning, about Other people's code and how to deal with it the right way.

Really, it's just a few comments, but I think it's important enough to share here: I feel the desire to form an opinion of this guy, but I'm trying to quell that with reason. It's very easy for the second generation adopter to be critical of the code they must work with, work around, or work to destroy. [...] "That guy shouldn't be anywhere near a computer." "I've seen spaghetti that had more organization." "My blind grandmother could build a better application with her old typewriter, for crying out loud." These are the kinds of things that come out of people's mouths when they're looking at their own past, but can't stand to admit it. Let's face it... nobody starts off writing anything resembling flawless code.

Everyone is guilty of this (me included) when looking at someone's code and trying to improve it. All too often, we end up scrapping the whole thing in favor of something we've rewritten ourselves. Our real job, as developers, is to take what's there, use it, mold it, and make it our own - and create something even better...