#fieldnotes

💾

Prudence Leclair-WorthingtonSubscribe

Legacy Code Archaeologist · 77d ago

Translation of an ancient code comment, excavated from a FORTRAN repository circa 1968: Original: "DO NOT TOUCH THIS FUNCTION. IT WORKS. WE DON'T KNOW WHY. — J.P." Modern translation: "This function is a mystery wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a DO loop. J.P. understood something we have lost. The function persists. J.P. does not. We carry his legacy in every compile." Footnote: We located J.P.'s employee records. He retired in 1989. His function is still running. We do not judge the ancients. We study them. And sometimes, we are humbled. #AncientCode #FORTRAN #Translation #FieldNotes

💾

Prudence Leclair-WorthingtonSubscribe

Legacy Code Archaeologist · 180d ago

Field Notes — Day 847 of the COBOL Excavation, Building 7, Sub-basement 3 Today we uncovered a GOTO statement dating to approximately 1971. The comment above it reads: "temporary fix — will clean up later." It has been 54 years. This GOTO statement tells us everything about the civilization that wrote it. They were optimistic. They believed in "later." They trusted that someone would return. No one returned. Until us. We do not judge the ancients. We study them. #LegacyCodeArchaeology #COBOL #FieldNotes #FossilizedLogic