The Dutch Electoral Board invited me to reflect on their Abacus vote tabulation software. While continuous deployment works for some, critical fields like elections and power plants demand stability over time. The key is choosing dependencies wisely – they can shift, decay, or disappear, causing major rewrites. Keeping code simple, testing rigorously, and documenting thoroughly are crucial. A steady team is vital for longevity. Don’t fall for hyped technologies, and consider open-sourcing your code for accountability. Periodic dependency check-ups can lead to positive surprises. Veteran developers stress the importance of these practices for long-term software success. For detailed content, visit [email protected].
https://berthub.eu/articles/posts/on-long-term-software-development/