Thinking Architecturally

Chapter 1. Technology Changes

If you’ve been in the software world for any amount of time you know that technology changes. It is inevitable. Early in my career I became despondent because I thought I’d “missed the wave” of some technology or another. What I didn’t appreciate at the time is that new technologies are a lot like buses—one comes every 15 minutes or so.

As architects, we have to remember that we cannot stop change, but we can manage it. In the rest of this chapter, we will cover the lessons the past can teach, a reminder that you can’t predict what the future holds and why you shouldn’t be so quick to jettison legacy skillsets.

Haven’t We Seen This Before?

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

George Santayana

For most developers, time began with the first language they learned. That initial experience becomes our lodestar and we often compare new languages to that inaugural experience, which becomes our programming origin story. While our first language is indeed foundational, it can leave us short-sighted.

Many developers fail to appreciate that the “new” feature just added to their favorite language has, in fact, been part of programming for decades. When Java 8 added lambda expressions, some developers did not understand why they needed this “new fangled” feature. I’m sure more than a few Lisp programmers found that assertion amusing.

With experience, you will come to recognize that technologies often repeat themselves.¹ Reflect for ...