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Many eons ago I wrote a small sales web application in Perl. I couldn't install anything on the ISP's machine, so I used file-backed hashes: one for users, one
by forinti 6mo ago
Many eons ago I wrote a small sales web application in Perl. I couldn't install anything on the ISP's machine, so I used file-backed hashes: one for users, one for orders, another for something else.
As the years went by, I expected the client to move to something better, but he just stuck with it until he died after about 20 years, the family took over and had everything redone (it now runs Wordpress).
The last time I checked, it had hundreds of thousands of orders and still had good performance. The evolution of hardware made this hack keep its performance well past what I had expected it to endure. I'm pretty sure SQLite would be just fine nowadays.
- da02 6mo agoWhat type of product or service were they selling?
- forinti 6mo agoA calendar for cutting your hair according to the phases of the moon.
- da02 6mo agoSounds like a tough business. The profit margins must have been razor thin.
- forinti 6mo agoJokes aside, the guy made an impressive amount of money with this. I should have charged him a percentage. Even if I had charged 0.5%, I would have made more money.
- da02 6mo agoRetail customers or B2B? What was stopping you from starting a similar business, but different product category?