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Microsoft’s original source code

(www.gatesnotes.com)
617 points EvgeniyZh | 3 comments | 03 Apr 25 21:49 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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n0rdy ◴[04 Apr 25 15:34 UTC] No.43583932[source]▶
Flipping through the source code is like a time machine tour of tech's evolution over the past 50 years. It made me wonder: will our 2025 code look as ancient by 2075?

And, btw, great infographics within the post.

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Towaway69 ◴[04 Apr 25 17:12 UTC] No.43585236[source]▶
Has there ever been a moment in human history where we’ve (as a society, not as individuals) looked back and were envious?

So my money is that the code I wrote today is the joke of tomorrow - for all involved.

Also, I for one don’t want to go back to punch cards ;)

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1. bojan ◴[04 Apr 25 18:14 UTC] No.43585948[source]▶
> Has there ever been a moment in human history where we’ve (as a society, not as individuals) looked back and were envious?

I am guessing that generation that transitioned from Pax Romana to early middle ages in Europe.

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2. Towaway69 ◴[04 Apr 25 19:55 UTC] No.43587005[source]▶
I doubt that since knowledge and education wasn’t wide spread - beyond cloisters, people didn’t general know how well the Romans had it.

Remember it took until the Renaissance until ancient texts (Greek and Roman) were “rediscovered” by European scholars.

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3. prewett ◴[04 Apr 25 20:33 UTC] No.43587350[source]▶
In all their cities they could see buildings that they did not know how to build. And before that, public services would have broken down. It would have become impossible to find people who knew how to repair your heated floor (if you were rich), etc. The city of Rome declined from 1 million people to something like 20,000. In the late 500s, Pope Gregory the Great thought that the world was ending because of all the trouble (including vicious barbarian invasions). Monks (and presumably anyone educated) had access to a lot of ancient texts, it was only some that got lost in the West. I think they would have had a distinct sense that that past was more advanced.