Maybe pure-ftpd.
The first version was released in 2001.
15 years later I still work on it and release new versions. Because people still use FTP.
Ask HN: Oldest code you have written that is still in use?
141–150 of 363 posts
Re: Ask HN: Oldest code you have written that is still in use?
#142I 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.…
15000 LOC in bash. You sick bastard.
Re: Ask HN: Oldest code you have written that is still in use?
#143I wrote a fax->email gateway in 2002 that's still in very active use.. wouldn't be that remarkable, except most of the servers are still running original equipment with original hard drives! Anyone have servers running 24x7 with hard drives older that that?
I know of a case at a company which had important servers running for so long that they were very careful doing the final migration off of them, because they were certain that once they brought them down, they'd have unrecoverable disk crashes if they tried to spin them up again.
Re: Ask HN: Oldest code you have written that is still in use?
#144I 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.…
15000 LOC in bash. You sick bastard.
I am only guilty for the first 100 LOC, the rest is not my fault :)
Re: Ask HN: Oldest code you have written that is still in use?
#145Earlier quoted context omitted.
>(one user proved it was Turing complete and wrote a Brainfuck parser in it.) Okay. That is hilarious.
I couldn't find said example (sorry), but I did find one of his other examples of abusing the assembler: http://bin.smwcentral.net/u/1686/boredom.asm You won't believe me unless you try it for yourself, but ... download xkas v06 here: http://www.romhacking.net/utilities/269/ Then download the above boredom.asm. And now run the following on the command-line: touch boredom.sfc xkas boredom.asm boredom.sfc Note again th…
I'm not a black hat, what is going on?
Re: Ask HN: Oldest code you have written that is still in use?
#146Back in '97 (I was 13 then) I wrote a small BASIC program to generate a part list and assembly "manual" for industrial garage doors. It was actually developed in a TDD way (comparing their regular output files to my generated files). Actually handed over the source files which they actually maintained throughout the years.
It has been running in various incarnations on salvaged old machines and for the past 3 years in DOSBox untill january this year.
Still proud of that one.
Although I made "only" 1000 guilders (that's about $750 in 2016 dollars) on that, it seemed like a huge amount of money back then. :')
Re: Ask HN: Oldest code you have written that is still in use?
#147From 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 still, AFAIK, an easter egg that displays the name of the people that worked on it back in the day, one just needs to open the right form and double-click in the right place.....
Re: Ask HN: Oldest code you have written that is still in use?
#148IRC bot in Ruby 1.6. I wrote a complete "framework" that supported plugins and hot-patching.
Some functionality: inter-channel-communication, inter-server-channel communication, offline messaging, reading RSS, working as ChanServ by commands (you can send him priv msg or message on a channel to promote you or someone else, kick or ban someone). Collecting messages are creating graphs about activity, per hour, per user or channel (so could easily see who abuses the most after 3AM), per day of week... I stopped writing in Ruby for a few years, when I get back it was Ruby1.9 and a lot of syntax changed. I know one person is still using it.
It was also my first ever application (other than scripts from tutorials), I wrote it when I was 15.
Re: Ask HN: Oldest code you have written that is still in use?
#149Many bank payment and loan systems are written in COBOL. Banks are so afraid to change them that there are often not even plans to upgrade them. When a change absolutely has to be made, they need to call the developers back from retirement...
As crazy as it would be to learn COBOL today, I've heard you can pretty much name your price for these sorts of jobs. They're definitely out there, too -- I saw one job listing in 2014 for a postal worker credit union that was looking for someone to pick up rudimentary COBOL from a pending retiree so they could still support their system.
Re: Ask HN: Oldest code you have written that is still in use?
#150I 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.
I still have some LPC code I wrote in the early/mid 90's that's kicking around on a MUD I used to play.