I\'m looking at using some open source code in my ASP.NET web app (specifically

Question

I'm looking at using some open source code in my ASP.NET web app (specifically dapper). Management is not a fan, because open source is seen as a risk that has bitten us before. Apparently previous developers have had to rewrite things after having open-source components fail.

The pros seem to be:

It does a lot of stuff for me that would otherwise involve either lots of boilerplate code or Microsoft's recommended but slower solution (Entity Framework).

Cons:

It's complex enough that if it were to fail suddenly in production, I would be hard pressed to fix it. However, it's in use on a much higher-traffic site than mine, so I don't think it'll end up being a high risk portion of the project.

What is the consensus here? Is it unwise to use open source code in my project that I don't know/understand as well as I do my own code?

Explanation / Answer

It's a choice that you'll have to make based on the specific circumstances. You can mitigate your risks by:

Ultimately, with a heavily-used open-source project you're likely to spend a lot more time writing your own than fixing the few issues you run into.

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