[fipar]

> As an old bastard, I would pass on one thing: Realize that any reasonably used database will likely outlast the applications leveraging it.

I’ve been working with and on databases for a long, long time, and I’ve even written about things I think people should know about if they want to do this, yet I never came up with such great insight. This is so true it should be engraved somewhere. Hats off!

[SulphurSmell]

Thanks. Scar tissue sometimes breeds insight. In further conversation on this phenomenon, I would argue that "long lived databases" are not so as result of brilliant design. Rather, it happens because the database itself is neglected and largely misunderstood, and gets less investment. And they live on and on...managers come and go...no investment. And then, years later, some poor bastard is stuck with a hideous mess that can't go anywhere. Don't let this happen to you.