Amazing how in the world of software, 6 years is considered "ancient". I know the field is a fast moving one, but my goodness. The target architecture is used

Amazing how in the world of software, 6 years is considered "ancient". I know the field is a fast moving one, but my goodness. The target architecture is used in the world of embedded hardware where product lifetimes often can be measured in decades (think locomotives, industrial installations, ships, etc.) For compliance and certification reasons alone you're often stuck with using older software versions. 6 years isn't actually that bad in that context. Keep in mind that many devices, such as ATMs, still use OS/2(!) or Windows 2000(!) as their operating systems, for example.