In Praise of Boring Tech (and Erlang)
Let’s get something out of the way first
Boring =/= Bad
Of course there is any amount of Boring and Bad (°) out there, but here the reference is to stuff that #JustWorks, whose implementation surface is well defined, whose failure modes are well understood, and whose edge cases tend to qualify as “Good Problems To Have”.
Of course there is any amount of Boring and Bad (°) out there, but here the reference is to stuff that #JustWorks, whose implementation surface is well defined, whose failure modes are well understood, and whose edge cases tend to qualify as “Good Problems To Have”.
Wait, what? Erlang?Yes indeed, it is, in many ways, the quintessential Boring technology.
Remember, your job, as a technologist, is to keep the company in business. Everything else — reducing costs, increasing revenue, using the best tool, “having fun”, etc. — are subordinate to keeping the company in business (°°).
And, keeping a system working reliably is waaay more expensive that building the damn thing in the first place.
And, to date, there are few, if any, environments other than Erlang to build reliable systems. Oh yes, you can do it in Java/C/PHP/golang/<whatever>, but you have to get everything just right. For everything.
Erlang, OTOH, may not be sexy any more, but Boy Howdy, is it easy to build stuff that Just Works. So yeah, embrace Boring, and Live The Boring Life (°°°)
And, keeping a system working reliably is waaay more expensive that building the damn thing in the first place.
And, to date, there are few, if any, environments other than Erlang to build reliable systems. Oh yes, you can do it in Java/C/PHP/golang/<whatever>, but you have to get everything just right. For everything.
Erlang, OTOH, may not be sexy any more, but Boy Howdy, is it easy to build stuff that Just Works. So yeah, embrace Boring, and Live The Boring Life (°°°)
(°) Anyone remember CORBA? Why?
(°°) The best leaders are the ones that can juggle these conflicting priorities and maximize happiness. If you find one, gloom on to them, and never let go
(°°°) More on this at https://goo.gl/uEGLGC
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