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0 pointsHumanDrivenDev8y ago0 comments

> This whole idealistic fantasy that this time around "we're going to get it right" - whether it's because we're smarter than those who came before, or we have better tooling, or a better framework, or better languages, or whatever specious reason is given - is just that: fantasy.

I'm glad smart people before me have decided that they're going to try and get stuff right or at least more right. Say what you will about Java or C# enterprise software, but I can't imagine COBOL was any more fun.

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bartread8y ago

I'm not against doing things well - far from it - but the idea that you should try to build a perfect system that takes into account every unforeseen eventuality is madness.

Also, agree about COBOL, but software systems these days - in C#, Java, whatever - are often larger and more complex than those written in COBOL. Partly this is because of higher user and business expectations of what can be achieved with technology, partly it's because the modern tools make it easier (or even realistically possible!) to do that. It's still the same deal though: it's all legacy in the end.

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