I wanted to bring an old project back to life and also keep my hair. How hard can it be, to do the chores and enjoy the bleeding edge and security. Someone would say; ohh this was quite a fun task to do. Because the reality is very different. It teaches a precious lesson, that is, a software program is more of a complex organism rather than a well-oiled clicking machine.
You see, after a while, any application deteriorates. The law of entropy takes place even in the abstract realm of the software. This is also a good analogy of how we should also take care of our psyche because it too can deteriorate if we don’t keep it up to date.
Right. Software. This was an old Java and React application, its purpose was to store patient’s data and aggregate it in a nice way for the doctor to follow the diagnosis and its history. Also, print any new diagnosis that the patient has.
This was done years ago, I initiated the build phase and the project didn’t start, frontend or backend.
It started with updating the Maven dependencies first to bring some fresh air to this rusty engine. And like a cascade, this brought a whole plethora of other issues from renamed java libraries to internal spring changes in its implementation details. It looks like it should not take time. From a high-level overview, it’s just an update. But the thing is, software is very brittle and reacts to entropy violently, so any change creates bigger and bigger problems down the line.
This brings the important lesson here. As an organism it needs care, and software needs proper love. Because if you neglect it, as with everything, it decays.
Always prioritize maintenance and never skip the chores. Not with your life or with software.
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