[aeonik]

Software could be much, much cheaper if libraries were easier to use, and data formats and protocols were more open.

So much code I have written and worked with is either CRUD or compatibility layers for un/under-documented formats.

It's as of most of the industry are plumbers, but we are mining and fabricating the materials for the pipes, and digging trenches to and from every residence using completely different pipes and designs for every. single. connection.

[skybrian]

I think that’s too pessimistic. There are lots of successful standards. We rely on standard API’s and libraries a lot more nowadays than we used to. Some of them are pretty good. There’s been a lot of progress.

But it takes a while because the wheel has to be reinvented many times before people give up on improving it. When a new language comes along, a lot of stuff gets reimplemented. There’s plenty of churn, but the tools do get better.

[aeonik]

Hmm, My comment wasn't a prediction, it's just an observation on my personal experience.

I find the opportunity for improvement exciting, and I'm optimistic for the future.

Like, statistically most software I've seen written, didn't need to be done. There were better ways, or it was already solved, and it was a knowledge or experience gap, or often a not invented here syndrome.

The main thing that frustrates me these days, is trying to do things better doesn't generally align with the quarterly mentality.