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> If all of the environmental variables remain the same, software doesn't really rot. It's actually the environmental variables which change. Then it sounds li
by mixedCase 8y ago
> If all of the environmental variables remain the same, software doesn't really rot. It's actually the environmental variables which change.
Then it sounds like "rot" is a very aptly used word. I'll put on the jerk hat and quote the Oxford dictionary:
rot (verb)
1 (chiefly of animal or vegetable matter) decay or cause to decay by the action of bacteria and fungi; decompose.
- TeMPOraL 8y agoIs it? My reading of that definition leads to exactly opposite conclusion. Rot is when something breaks down while environment remains the same. What happens with software is the opposite: it forever remains in pristine condition; it's the environment that changes. (Compare also with description of evolution. A species does not "rot". It dies off when its niche changes so much its no longer adapted to survive in it.)
- stcredzero 8y agoWhat happens with software is the opposite: it forever remains in pristine condition; it's the environment that changes. Exactly. If you replicate the old environment in an emulator, the old code runs just fine.