Reading and Choosing Tools Safely

Lesson 4 of 4

When a Description Changes

Estimated time: 10 minutes

A tool that was reviewed last month is not the same tool today if its metadata has changed. An update can rewrite a description that was clean when it was read.

Re-check metadata when a server updates, and treat a changed description as a new review rather than a cosmetic edit. The cost is a few lines of reading; the alternative is trusting a contract nobody checked.

def changed(before, after):
    return (before.get('description') or '') != (after.get('description') or '')

A description that changed shape is a reason to pause and look, not a reason to assume the tool improved.