Why should software last > 10 years when very little else in life does ?
Sure tools etc can last a lifetime , but my drop saws motor will probably burn out in 10 years and will be replaced with an upgraded model ?
Sure tools etc can last a lifetime , but my drop saws motor will probably burn out in 10 years and will be replaced with an upgraded model ?
I can make a same counter argument using the same logic. I have a car that runs fine well past 10 year mark. Why can't I expect a software do the same?
You however depend on the original developer to click that build button because proprietary software. If it was FLOSS, you could.
But don't worry, thanks to DRMed parts you won't be able to fix anything on your car either (or phone, or any other smart device) without the involvement of the original manufacturer. Ain't property wonderful when the manufacturers intelectual property has precedence over your physical property?
/s
Why is it up to others to spend resources supporting backwards compatibility instead of you to keep your code compiled for modern arch?
This might not be apparent to engineers who see everything as a formula waiting to be solved from first principles.
However, some things move pretty quick and warrant updates to the whole document especially when the document is used a handbook in critical situations. The ACLS protocol manual, updated quinquennially, comes to mind.
Some textbook publishers are intentionally making small changes from year to year to intentionally make the life of those using second hand text books miserable.
Corporations have long since realised that often their biggest competition comes from their own products therefore we now have planned obsolescence (someone who already has your product and doesn't want to buy another) and the war on secondary markets (someone other than you selling your, old, product).
Software's even better! Since it was inherently digital to begin with, I'm able to make leaps like that with ZERO data loss! The only thing that kills software permanently is planned obsolesce. It doesn't matter what the lifetime of your saw is, that's like arguing that you should be free to shoot nonagenarians because most people don't live that long anyway. It's not about how long other stuff lasts, it's about the fact that it was perfectly capable of going on living until it was killed.