Much older than that are the IRS Master files: the US tax system runs on IBM 7074 assembler although I think the actual 7074 hardware is long gone.
If that were cheaper, or considered more reliable or less hackable, than upgrading the systems to run on more modern technology then why not, as long as they look ahead far enough to make sure they fund the required tutoring to get the knowledge being passed down a generation or two, and do it before getting to the point where not having enough young experts actually has become a problem.
Also the PDP-11 was designed at the time boundary of core vs semiconductor memory with the clear intent to be able switch to semiconductor which led to an unusually flexible design around memory (and also affected I/O design). Check this 1975 paper https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/800110.803541
> One of the plan’s priorities is the retirement of the Business Master File by FY2027 and the Individual Master File by FY2028
But it's not at all clear whether there's funding available to execute this plan.
I mean, yes, it's been 15 years and now only about five remains (because these projects never meet deadlines, let's face it) so they are nearer the finish line ... but it's very far still.
There HAS to be a project to feed the Master file(s) thru a modern AI to analyse and document the file(s).
Your Honor, my client could not have committed tax evasion because these were the most likely numbers based on millions of tax reports analyzed.
Please, please do that in front of a judge, I will bring the popcorn.
But I refer to the IRS's core executable code. Isn't the current state of affairs that it is code that is not well-documented, or not even documented at all ?
That's the impression I have gotten. Correct me if I am OTL.