I don't think so. For example, the Linux kernel is old, but still quite well maintainable. So I would say: it applies to systems where proper modularization wa

I don't think so. For example, the Linux kernel is old, but still quite well maintainable. So I would say: it applies to systems where proper modularization was neglected. In the anecdotical cases I referred to, one major element of this deficiency was a complex database, shared across the whole system.