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> Sometimes I believe that software, while great, will never be huge like writing a book that will survive for centuries. Note because it is not as great per-se
by tlrobinson 7y ago
> Sometimes I believe that software, while great, will never be huge like writing a book that will survive for centuries. Note because it is not as great per-se, but because as a side effect it is also useful… and will be replaced when something more useful is around.
That's an interesting point and thought experiment: what piece of software currently exists that will still be widely used in a century? And what's the oldest software that's still being used currently?
- jonathanberger 7y agoUnix. Email. TCP/IP. Just taking an initial stab.
- kbwt 7y agoAll of those will be around not because they are good, but because so many other things are built against their interfaces.
- aeorgnoieang 7y agoUltimately, what else is 'good' other than being the foundation of further far-flung flourishing?
- gloflo 7y agoThose are standards and protocols, not software.
- BillGates432 7y agoSpider Solitaire
- sanxiyn 7y ago> And what's the oldest software that's still being used currently? I am very interested in this question, but much of software is proprietary and you don't have much visibility into their history. For software in the public, trivial lower bound is GCC 1.0 in 1987. Another case I know is Community Climate System Model, in continued development since 1983.
- jcelerier 7y ago`ed`, of course
- thrower123 7y agoI would place money on people still using Vim and Emacs in a hundred years.
- trystero 7y agoGit.
- peterwwillis 7y agoThe oldest software still used is operated by banks, government agencies, schools and businesses. A large number of them are black boxes, and very expensive, so nobody will replace them. Their hardware just gets maintained ad infinitum, and the software doesn't care how old it is, so it just keeps running. So basically, the age of software is limited by its hardware. (It's similar with animals: if nobody bumps them off and the hardware keeps ticking, the software probably will too... fish and mammals can live for hundreds of years)
- nickpsecurity 7y agoMy favorite examples: https://www.pcworld.com/article/249951/if-it-aint-broke-dont-fix-it-ancient-computers-in-use-today.html https://www.pcworld.com/article/249951/if-it-aint-broke-dont...
- eeZah7Ux 7y agoThis is way more than a thought experiment. Stable, mature software runs the world. E.g. the CIP project aims to maintain released kernels for 25 years. https://www.cip-project.org/ https://www.cip-project.org/