Yep... days worth of work to get Python code I wrote 3 years ago working again from all of the 'bitrot.' Can't imagine how much work it must be for them to produce new binaries to update these old systems from modern computer hardware.
Although I suppose it could actually be easier depending on how the code works- perhaps it's just simple bare metal assembly without the approx 10^99999 libraries a modern python stack has.
It's probably a lot easier in a way, because they don't have to worry about external dependencies changing at all. Modern code is a real PITA that way.
What's hard about their work is 1) it's really, really slow to communicate with, so you can't iterate quickly, 2) the tech is really old and unlike today's stuff, so it's very specialized domain knowledge.
UniverseHacker|1 year ago
Although I suppose it could actually be easier depending on how the code works- perhaps it's just simple bare metal assembly without the approx 10^99999 libraries a modern python stack has.
shiroiushi|1 year ago
What's hard about their work is 1) it's really, really slow to communicate with, so you can't iterate quickly, 2) the tech is really old and unlike today's stuff, so it's very specialized domain knowledge.
groestl|1 year ago
layer8|1 year ago