Open Source Dependencies: Is It the Holy Grail or a Can of Worms?

Do you ever wonder if you should include a third-party library in your code or not? Sometimes it’s worth it, but mostly it’s not. Here’s a quick way to tell: If the library is doing something you don’t comprehend, or if it’s doing something you could do yourself with little effort, then don’t use it. The only exception to this rule is if the library is doing something that would be very difficult or time-consuming to do yourself. In that case, it might be worth using the library even if you don’t fully understand it.