Stonehenges
Yes. This has to do with Software. Bear with me (or blame Adrian for saying this was a good idea).
What do we know about Stonehenge?
- It was built, most likely, by a group of people. If it was an individual, s/he must have been rather awesome (albeit not necessarily wise)
- It was built a long time ago, by a culture that “left no written records”
- All available sources of information basically say something in the lines of: “by the time we arrived, it was already there”
- No one is 100% sure of what is it doing there
- Some people assign it mystical powers, while other folks think it’s just a rudimentary attempt to display some skills
- It’s likely the derivative of somebody having way too much power
- We do know, though, that catastrophe is likely if it’s removed (touristic/economic catastrophe, but catastrophe in the end ☺ )
- General consensus agrees that it was built on different phases -again, no clue of the reasoning behind each of these phases
- The fact that the thing is there, pretty much justifies more jobs than if a more modern structure was in its place
- Maybe the most interesting question is how in the hell the thing (or at least, a part of it) is still standing
- Whoever built it, s/he likely lived in the nadir of what we currently understand as “civilization”.
Ring any bells? Think about the last time you dealed with a legacy system.
I mean, real legacy system. No, not the uncomfortable yet decently documented API, or that backend you know it’ll take a few months to actually understand.
I mean thousands over thousands of lines of code written as if they were SQL stored procedures. Maybe even real business logic living in Stored Procedures. Zero documentation. Strange dependencies against which your Google-fu has no power. Technologies long abandoned to their fate, only murmured in sarcastic references at forgotten usenet groups.
The kind of questions that get zero up-votes on Stack Overflow, and just 1 view every 6 months. Someone passing by, almost stalking you, while you whisper: “I know you’re there… I know you can see me…”
The very essence of nightmares. Curses. The kind of things that transform your good-willed antisocial nature into a master of profanity.
That thing you’re dealing with? That’s a Stonehenge. That phase you’re living? That’s what I call “Stonehenge Driven Development”.
I would love to hear your Stonehenge stories or any kind of feedback. I’m @xnt on Twitter.
