Is it bad form to patch a dependency? (programming.dev)

submitted 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) by staircase@programming.dev to c/programming@programming.dev

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My code depends on a library that makes liberal use of patching (replacing text in source code) for its own dependencies. I feel this is bad form, because, for example, that dependency may now conflict irreconcilably with another dependency of mine.

Am I right in thinking patching code is bad form?

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[-] litchralee@sh.itjust.works 3 points 5 days ago

If your patching an external library, please try to do what you can in the moment to formulate the patch in such a way that the upstream can accept it.

[-] staircase@programming.dev 3 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

Not sure if it's clear, but I'm not doing the patching - my dependency is.

Updated post to make it clearer.

this post was submitted on 01 Apr 2026

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