In Verner Vinge’s space opera A Deepness in the Sky,...

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In Verner Vinge’s space opera A Deepness in the Sky, he proposes that one of this future’s most valuable professions is that of Programmer-Archaeologist. The Programmer-Archaeologist churns through this maddening nest of ancient languages and hidden/forgotten tools to repair existing programs or to find odd things that can be turned to unanticipated uses.
https://web.archive.org/web/20120308181908/http://oddbill.com/2007/07/04/programmer-archaeologist/

Like 9 Aug 2023 at 17:35 | Open on merveilles.town

4 comments

Jon-Pål Sætre

@neauoire I liked that book a lot.

9 Aug 2023 at 17:37 | Open on ni.hil.ist

Ty Smith :verified: :verified:

@neauoire I work on a platform team in a giant big tech codebase. We've referred to one common type of work as archeology for years before ever reading Vernor Vinge. It's fitting.

9 Aug 2023 at 19:07 | Open on androiddev.social

Helvetica Blanc

@neauoire I think about that book and A Fire Upon the Deep almost weekly.

9 Aug 2023 at 21:34 | Open on merveilles.town

0gust1

@neauoire I remember being struck by that too. You just made me to read it again ^^
I’m also finishing « The Expanse » cycle, and there are some indirect mentions of this kind of skills (related to Naomi Nagata).

9 Aug 2023 at 21:49 | Open on merveilles.town