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Software's re-usability is both a blessing and a curse. Hardware also has modularity, but it is still common to build hardware from scratch. On the other hand,
by signaru 3y ago
Software's re-usability is both a blessing and a curse. Hardware also has modularity, but it is still common to build hardware from scratch. On the other hand, once a library or framework exists, many people no longer feel the need to understand the underlying algorithms. One side effect is that many of the frameworks or libraries still in use and that are important for the dependent software to work are written with languages that less and less people want to program in such as C/C++ or even Fortran.
- brutusborn 3y agoI’ve seen decades old Fortran codebases that everyone is too scared to touch. So instead all the new ‘features’ marketed to clients are just window dressing around the existing Fortran core.
- trealira 3y agoSide question: what kinds of codebases were those? What products were built on top of decades-old Fortran code? I'm curious.
- brutusborn 3y agoEngineering simulation software. So being hesitant to change code is probably fair, in case you introduce new bugs. However that view ties your hands when improving the software and at some point becomes counter-productive.