[BatFastard]

You have obviously not been a developer for very long. I commonly use code that is 20 years old. Of course that code is well maintained C and C++ code.

This is one reason the not acquiring or correcting technical debt is so important for the long term health of a company.

Now I agree that data is king, but if you have to rewrite you code base every 5 years you are doomed.

[sidlls]

I've been writing code for over 20 years now, longer in the industry than in academia now. The trend toward using the latest, shiny new thing seems to me to have accelerated, too. I would like to go back to a job where I work on code that includes decades old C and C++. Unfortunately those jobs tend to pay significantly less than others I can get.

[BatFastard]

I have used my share of shiny new things, I have created many shiny new things. But you can not build a society based on shiny new things. At a certain point the churn rate gets too high.

A friend of mine is working for an internet security company that seems to have the enlightened attitude towards software, everything is test driven and the majority is C++ and Java. This code will be around in 20 years, and will bring in millions of dollars of revenue with minimal maintenance.

[sidlls]

I don't disagree. I'm just saying the market doesn't currently seem to value that.

[sAbakumoff]

Apparently developers compare their sizes too.