[ladyattis]

Part of the cause of software rot is the fact that much of our code is tied to a specific platform or paradigm. So if you're working with Java 5 code it might be hard as hell to work with since it doesn't take advantage of the conveniences of modern Java. Same with legacy C++ apps or any other app to be honest that's older than a few years in most programming languages. Ideally, you can write around the core logic while replacing what's not actively supportable anymore but when you're stuck on a business mandated timeline you make due with what you can do to minimize the software rot.