Earlier quoted context omitted.
15000 LOC in bash. You sick bastard.
I am only guilty for the first 100 LOC, the rest is not my fault :)
Moot point. You still created patient zero. ;)
Ask HN: Oldest code you have written that is still in use?
281–290 of 363 posts
Re: Ask HN: Oldest code you have written that is still in use?
#282SA-FileUp, one of the first ASP components, originally written by me in 1997 to receive web based uploads. Still sells enough licenses every year to put my kids through college. http://fileup.softartisans.com/
And a big thank you for writing this! Used this on many different projects, including a ASP/VB6 app from 2006 that I'm still supporting in my spare time.
Re: Ask HN: Oldest code you have written that is still in use?
#283Earlier quoted context omitted.
A great example of why we tell people to forget using a substandard approach and language for "quick and dirty code that will probably get thrown away." A lot of long-lasting code started out exactly that way. ;)
You neglect something I think is very important: You do not normally know up front what code will live and not. If you carefully (over-)engineer everything you will perhaps not get time to write all those short-lived failures that preceded that long-lasting success. Of course I wish that piece of code that I hacked 3 years ago and never got around to refactor was better done the first time! But that kind of thinking…
"You neglect something I think is very important: You do not normally know up front what code will live and not."
It's actually mentioned in my post and the whole point.
"If you carefully (over-)engineer everything you will perhaps not get time"
This is true. You can spend vast amounts of over-engineering instead of hacking something together that's "perfect up front." This is a false dilemma, though, as simply taking a little more time to think about or improve some code can work wonders. Better instead of perfect. You will still output less code but you'll have more useful and correct code.
Re: Ask HN: Oldest code you have written that is still in use?
#284Earlier quoted context omitted.
A great example of why we tell people to forget using a substandard approach and language for "quick and dirty code that will probably get thrown away." A lot of long-lasting code started out exactly that way. ;)
my way to approach this, be it for my hobby or corporate projects, is to always associate a TODO with a ticket/issue number (in github/redmine/jira/whatever) so that I can remember them, and/or include them in a sprint (in my company I always try to include one or two "fix todo" issues in our sprints) It also helps teammate who find themselves with 1 hours idleing to have a little thing to do.
That's a good idea. Long as it gets done. Capitalizing on downtime makes it an even better idea. :)
Re: Ask HN: Oldest code you have written that is still in use?
#285Earlier quoted context omitted.
A great example of why we tell people to forget using a substandard approach and language for "quick and dirty code that will probably get thrown away." A lot of long-lasting code started out exactly that way. ;)
You neglect something I think is very important: You do not normally know up front what code will live and not. If you carefully (over-)engineer everything you will perhaps not get time to write all those short-lived failures that preceded that long-lasting success. Of course I wish that piece of code that I hacked 3 years ago and never got around to refactor was better done the first time! But that kind of thinking…
This is a good and often overlooked point. Good engineers will start to get it better more often, but nobody can predict the future.
Re: Ask HN: Oldest code you have written that is still in use?
#286I wrote an in-MUD game for a Wheel of Time-themed MUD around 2005; I stopped in last year to see how things were going and was pleasantly surprised to see that not only were my game and helpfile still in the MUD, but that there was an ongoing game as I logged in. Satisfying to know that something I made over ten years ago is still being enjoyed.
Mind explaining the in-MUD game? Was it an adaptation of Foxes and Snakes?
Re: Ask HN: Oldest code you have written that is still in use?
#287I designed some of the electronics and wrote some firmware code for the Bell AH-1S Cobra in 1978 1979. The system is still flying as I see the external parts of the system in news clips. Does that count? Beat that! Mean looking image of a parked up one - the red bag covers part of the system: http://www.vaq136.com/misawa/cobra73418-017b.jpg
That's pretty neat. Were you working for a defense contractor at the time?
Yup a big one in the UK
Re: Ask HN: Oldest code you have written that is still in use?
#288Re: Ask HN: Oldest code you have written that is still in use?
#289I wrote a hacky bash script back in 2000 to manage HalfLife dedicated servers (start, stop, edit basic config stuff) for a friend. This script (I initially called "hl.sh") is later renamed into "hl-monster.sh", and finally to "hl-monster-extended.sh" with ~15000 LOC, supporting 120+ different Games and is running on ~2000 really big servers around the world. This script is the core of a big international company now.…
Kinda funny that googling for "hl-monster.sh" or "hl-monster-extended.sh" yields precisely 1 result - this HN page.
Re: Ask HN: Oldest code you have written that is still in use?
#290From 1994-2001 I worked (in a small team) on a C++/Paradox school administration system; it's still in use today in hundreds of public schools in South Australia. I think they've tried to replace it via tender at least once, but haven't found an affordable / suitable replacement. It was quite amusing to get invoices from my daughter's (born in 1996) school produced by this program on a format I had laid out. There's…
I'd be curious to know how many of these programs/scripts/etc. have easter eggs hidden in them. It seems like you're the only one to mention it so far.