Conclusion
It's not always the best idea to rewrite legacy code. In an era driven by cost-cutting and the demand for value, it makes sense to use tried and tested code. Skilfully using mixed language source code interfaces and standard patterns (such as the façade pattern) can effectively bridge the gap between old technology (for example, C-based code) and new systems (for example, those based on C++, Java, C#, and so on). The time saved can be put to good use when learning other patterns and technologies. Further information on patterns is available in the excellent books on this topic, such as reference [2]. The source code referenced in this article is available for download at reference [3].