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It looks like there is a growing push towards going back to distributing software as native binaries. However, it also looks that programmers these days seem to forget why we moved from native to bytecode binaries in the first place (maybe because the ones that still have that experience all migrated to management?). It’s not that native code doesn’t have any advantages, but far from it that it’s a silver bullet like we are (sometimes) led to believe.

Every programmer knows that the only stable product is a dead product. Live products, on the other hand, constantly evolve to adapt to changing markets, new users or both.

As programmers, most of us are intimidated by big, complex problems. And since most of us are a bit cocky too (in a positive way!) we are often inclined to dismiss inherited complex products and technologies as “old” or “bloated” and tend to solve every problem with “refactor” using some “new technology”. Similarly, we tend to dismiss as “not needed” most of the things we don’t understand. Don’t know about you, but I have to confess that throughout my career I have sinned on all of those accounts.

I’m old, and one benefit of being old is that I’ve seen things. I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Ori… Ok, maybe not those things, but still… things. And let me tell you something about one thing I believe many of us should be more aware of.