[DSMan195276]

> Writing foundational algorithms/data-structures libraries (e.g. language-runtime stdlibs like libc) is usually treated as a sort of sacred ritual in programming—something where it’s “obvious” that it should be done slowly, carefully, and without distraction, with each change audited carefully by many peers before accepting a merge.

I'll be honest, I think you're vastly overestimating how well these things are actually developed :) I agree with what you said, I just found this part a little bit funny.

[derefr]

What I really meant, without the fancy language, is that stdlib programmers are crotchety greybeards who don't like change-for-change-sake and so default-deny rather than default-accept random patches. That by itself creates a very different level of stability in these projects, where things only ever change if they really need to to fix a specific bug—and even then, the change is pared down to have as little architectural effect as possible.