Syeed Ali said on Tue, 20 Jun 2023 21:32:03 -0700

>It's possible for it to be "done" if it reasonably matches all the
>specifications and has no bugs.

I wish more people would understand this. Lack of updates, or even
abandonment, isn't a problem with well built software that works as
advertised.

I've been using fetchmail for 20 years, and I think it's been longer
than 20 years since it got an update. It just works (TM).

Although runit is still technically maintained, by the Void Linux
folks, it's not had an update since 2014. I've used it every day since
2015, and it does exactly what I want.

Although Plain TeX gets new macros all the time, the basic compiler
hasn't been updated in years, as far as I know. I use it all the time.

Simple, bugless software lasts as long as the environment it runs in
lasts. Some day I'll need to give up on fetchmail in order to work with
IPV6, but until that day comes, every three minutes my fetchmail grabs
my mail from my web host's IMAP server.

My otl2lyx.awk program was last modified in 2010, and I still use it
from time to time. Same with my otl2pdf.

Although VimOutliner is (badly) still maintained, I use version 0.3.5
from March 11, 2011 many times a day, and some day I might fork
VimOutliner to bring it back to what it once stood for.

Big, buggy software must be under constant development. Well crafted
software with limited scope requires no maintenance.

SteveT

Steve Litt
Autumn 2022 featured book: Thriving in Tough Times
http://www.troubleshooters.com/bookstore/thrive.htm