Running Older Software Today

Why Can't We Run Software that Was Written 25 Years Ago?

Doug Purdy | September 13, 2015

I would like to write software that people can run 100 years from now. Clearly that's not going to happen.
Ward Cunningham tells a story about how he wrote Hypercard apps for his kids as bedtime stories. He would love to be able to run that software today, share it with his kids and grandkids. But there's no way to run it. He says this is wrong. I agree, emphatically.

Mainframe computer circa 1960s. http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/articles/2014-06-25/the-talent-that-keeps-your-50-year-old-software-running-is-retiring-dot-now-what

<more at http://scripting.com/2015/09/13/whyCantWeRunSoftwareThatWasWritten25YearsAgo.html; related links: http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/articles/2014-06-25/the-talent-that-keeps-your-50-year-old-software-running-is-retiring-dot-now-what (Who'll Keep Your 50-Year-Old Software Running? June 25, 2014) and http://www.howtogeek.com/172768/why-old-programs-dont-run-on-modern-versions-of-windows-and-how-you-can-run-them-anyway/ (Why Old Programs Don’t Run on Modern Versions of Windows (and How You Can Run Them Anyway). September 24, 2013)>