What is a consequence of not optimizing code before deployment?

Not optimizing code before deployment can indeed lead to increased risk of downtime. When code is not optimized, it may lead to performance issues, such as slower response times, unexpected crashes, or even an inability to handle a high volume of users or transactions. These performance bottlenecks can cause the application to behave erratically under load, which ultimately puts the application at greater risk of failing and causing downtime.

In a production environment, if the application is sluggish or becomes unresponsive, it can frustrate users and negatively impact business operations. Furthermore, performance issues can lead to increased resource consumption, which may exhaust available computational resources and lead to service outages. Therefore, optimizing code before deployment is critical to ensure reliability, maintain performance standards, and minimize the risk of downtime that could disrupt services.