I have spent the last few days training in Hobart, which is in Tasmania, the southernmost state in Australia. Today I took the day off to spend some time in Richmond, which is a 30-minute drive from the centre of Hobart. Richmond is famous because it is home to the oldest bridge in Australia. The bridge was constructed in 1833. Although the bridge is 175 years old, it is still being driven on. When this bridge was built cars were not even invented and the bridge would only have been used by horses and carriages. However, the construction was so good that it has been able to adapt with the changing needs.
I often think that when a lot of software applications are devolved they are designed with a short-term focus. The average lifespan for software in just over five years; however, often applications are shipped without a solid foundation. So no matter what a company does to the application, they are simply building on top of a house of cards. When you design a schema, do you think about the fact that your database may still be in use in 10 years time?
- Peter Ward