Why Is There So Much Crap Software in the World • Hacker News Board

Re: Why Is There So Much Crap Software in the World

#21

Post by jmfldn » Sat, Dec 19, 2020, 11:55 AM UTC

hackerfromthefu wrote: post #20

I think the situation can be described pretty accurately like this: 1. A developers job is more complex than most, and takes a very long time to learn, because you have to become proficient in so many aspects of the job. e.g. - technical stack which is huge (languages, protocols, how hardware works, networking etc), - plus technical tooling (ides, source control, platforms such as clouds, programming frameworks and s…

This expresses the problem perfectly and echoes everything I've seen in the industry at least. Great comment.

Re: Why Is There So Much Crap Software in the World

#22

Post by m0llusk » Sat, Dec 19, 2020, 3:33 PM UTC

This focuses on the people, but the processes and the tools should even out performance and limit failure and are not doing that effectively. People's performance is often a reflection of their environment with many factors involved in any particular success or failure.

Re: Why Is There So Much Crap Software in the World

#23

Post by mbrodersen » Sun, Dec 20, 2020, 3:01 AM UTC

Writing perfect software that nobody wants to pay $ to upgrade/fix is a really bad business model. You want to create software that people want to pay $ for even if it isn’t perfect. It’s like the medical industry. They don’t want to invent medication that cure you. Only medication that “manages” your symptoms and guarantee a long term $ income from your sickness for years until you die.

Re: Why Is There So Much Crap Software in the World

#24

Post by mbrodersen » Sun, Dec 20, 2020, 3:07 AM UTC

mbrodersen wrote: post #23

Writing perfect software that nobody wants to pay $ to upgrade/fix is a really bad business model. You want to create software that people want to pay $ for even if it isn’t perfect. It’s like the medical industry. They don’t want to invent medication that cure you. Only medication that “manages” your symptoms and guarantee a long term $ income from your sickness for years until you die.

Same with lawyers. They are billing by the hour. So it is in their interest to make contract negotiations as complicated and drawn out as possible, and the resulting contract vague enough for the client to require more lawyer hours in the future. If you are a lawyer and you help clients to quickly get high quality contracts finished, you will never become a partner.

Re: Why Is There So Much Crap Software in the World

#25

Post by mbrodersen » Sun, Dec 20, 2020, 3:14 AM UTC

yummypaint wrote: post #6

I think it has less to do with the quality of developers and more to do with perverse incentive structures surrounding commercial software design. A piece of software that optimally solves a problem for the user is rarely optimal for generating revenue. Hence the common practice of companies breaking and sabotaging their own products to get the upsell while slowly turning them into spyware. The fundamental problem is…

Of course it has nothing to do with developer skills. Follow the money! Fixing bugs/selling upgrades makes money. Writing perfect software makes you bankrupt.

Re: Why Is There So Much Crap Software in the World

#26

Post by rini17 » Sun, Dec 20, 2020, 2:14 PM UTC

Bridges are relatively easy to specify. There aren't so many variables and they aren't likely to change after the bridge is built.

Most software is underspecified (an unsolved problem) and thus in exchange for "hacking it together somehow" the vendor is allowed to disclaim any responsibility.

Re: Why Is There So Much Crap Software in the World

#27

Post by thanato0s » Mon, Dec 21, 2020, 1:17 PM UTC

Why we have so much crap is not necessarily because of developers. In my experience (10 years), it's almost never the case.

1. Bloated and useless functionalities. More functionalities will make any software more complex. If these functionalities are not well thought or lack logic, it's more difficult to implement.

2. Believes versus empiric proof. The big difference we have with other engineering field: we deal with believes. The building of a plane rely heavily on the laws of physics, we rely on the law of SOLID. The first is a scientific discipline, the second is a guy talking on a stage.

3. Ego-centered field. We all think we know better. We all think we have the truth ("Microservices are better!", "OOP is the best!") even if we have no idea about it.

This article is full of believes without any study to back it up, with a cool looking curve which doesn't measure anything. The hero expert programmer who will save us all is a myth. We all struggle, we all make mistake, and we build things together. The group synergy is more important (see rework from Google).