> I have worked on/converted many useful databases that were created in the 1970s, before I was born "Converted" makes it sound like you found a database with

> I have worked on/converted many useful databases that were created in the 1970s, before I was born "Converted" makes it sound like you found a database with lots of useful data and then developed a different schema for it that was useful for your own needs. This is kinda my point: when people say the database outlives its application, they mean the data itself. That's somewhat irrelevant to the discussion of how to properly architect database schemas. Did you find relational database schemas from the 1970s that made you go "ahh, this is perfect for what I need!"? > Can you imagine a stateful application that you could easily understand and utilize all the data that's been ingested on for 50+ years? I don't think I understand this question. Yes, I can certainly imagine an application that remains understandable, relevant, and maintainable for 50+ years. I hate the current expectation that apps and code have shelf-lives in the single-digit years. I hate the term "legacy code". These are immature attitudes from the "move fast and break things" eternal startup crowd whose only goal is a profitable exit. That is not "engineering", it's apathetic planned obsolescence, and everyone who participates in planned obsolescence should be ashamed of themselves. Code that could reasonably last 50+ years should be your default if you call yourself a "software engineer". Otherwise your title should be "YOLO coder-bro". But isn't that the opposite of letting every random team have unfettered access to the internal private details of a database and entrenching every little design decision under a mountain of unmaintainable SQL? "Growing organically" sounds great until you realize you're just describing cancer. It took life trillions of tries before "growing organically" ended up with something half-passing as kinda-elegant if you squint. Do you want bridge engineers to let the design of a suspension bridge "grow organically"? Will that bridge last 50+ years?