[Chris_Newton]

I have found that over time, I have become more sceptical about new shiny things in the programming world. Every now and then, I wonder if I’m becoming the dreaded veteran dinosaur type, the developer who has more demands on their time now and who just hasn’t kept up with the tech.

But then I look at all the troubles the kids have with their fragile, short-lived tools. I recognise short-sighted design decisions they’re making because they’re being pushed into them by some shiny new library. I notice that many of those tools and libraries have big names behind them, and that the Zeitgeist people think you’re weird if you’re not using them, and remind myself that these things are only ever means to an end, no matter how popular they become.

Of course it’s useful to keep generally aware of what’s happening in the industry and from time to time a genuine improvement does come along. However, there is definitely a difference between not keeping up and not wasting your time repeating past mistakes or following blind alleys that often end up at dead ends.