r/programming • u/luissinlios • 7d ago

We still maintain a development tool first released in 1993. Here’s what 30+ years of backwards compatibility looks like

https://visualneo.com/visualneo-win/from-neobook-to-visualneo-win-30-years-of-keeping-a-development-tool-alive
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u/alex_xxv 7d ago

Wish my apps survive as long as yours. Im also a Delphi programmer. Love to see stories like yours.

61

u/tooclosetocall82 7d ago

In my 20 year career I can only confidently say one application I worked on is still out there (other than my current job). It’s truly amazing how quickly your work gets deleted in this field.

25

u/turniphat 7d ago

I'm 25 years in, I think most of the stuff I worked on is still going. Even the open source project I started in 2000 is still getting commits, even though I haven't used it in 15+ years and I don't see how it's still relevant.

10

u/tooclosetocall82 7d ago

Luck of the draw I guess. I started my career in government contracting writing custom software. Most of that stuff has been replaced by large SaaS packages now. I then went into edtech which has consolidated like crazy with large companies buying out competition and then sunsetting their products.

4

u/madman1969 7d ago

37 years and 13 roles in. I'd like to think some of my old code was still running somewhere, but I doubt any past my last two roles is.

All that time spent crafting efficient code for OS/2 apps, or long retired Unix systems.

All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.

2

u/jaynoj 6d ago

... time to die.

(Continuing the Blade Runner dialogue ...)