Computer languages have a strange shelf life. The most popular among them experience explosive growth driven by herding behavior akin to that of the fashion industry. But when they fade from the spotlight, something odd happens. Instead of disappearing like a pop song or parachute pants, they live on and on and on and on. The impetus behind this quasi-immortality? It’s often cheaper to maintain old code than to rewrite it in the latest, trendiest language.
In the past, tending to an old code base was a lonely experience, not unlike living on a desert island. The job was to keep everything running with virtual duct tape and baling wire. Old tools and old compilers were coddled and fussed over because they were essential to keeping the old code alive. Old libraries were treated like family heirlooms, especially if they came with source code.
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