2022-12-01 16:53:44 +01:00
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2022-12-02 07:06:33 -05:00
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title = "Resilient Infrastructure"
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2022-12-01 16:53:44 +01:00
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glassblowers = ["cristobalsciutto.md"]
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+++
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2024-05-19 12:49:52 -07:00
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For protocols to be resilient, they must be maintained. Simple tools can be interrogated. Simple tools can be tweaked. Worse is better.
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2022-12-02 04:42:10 -05:00
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Software must be executed on a substrate, a computational abstraction on top of
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hardware. If that substrate shifts from under the software, the software stops
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running. It must be "ported" to new hardware via a new abstraction. Longevity
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thus implies constant maintenance.
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The easier to port, the more resilient software becomes. Sometimes porting
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becomes impossible, and then software dies. This is what happened to Adobe
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Flash, until it was ported to the internet browser (flash.pm). Choosing a
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simple abstraction on top of hardware, despite being inefficient is often worth
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2022-12-13 00:54:38 +01:00
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it. This is the approach taken by [100 rabbits with Uxn](https://100r.co/site/uxn_design.html). They write:
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2022-12-02 04:42:10 -05:00
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2024-05-20 13:44:10 -07:00
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> As it stands today, modern software is built with extreme short-sightedness,
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2022-12-02 04:42:10 -05:00
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designed to be run on disposable electronics and near impossible to maintain.
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We decided to not participate. Our aim is to create a machine that focuses on
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answering the handful of little tasks we need, which is centered around
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building playful audio/visual experiences.
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2024-05-20 13:44:10 -07:00
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> Uxn was created explicitly to host software on pre-existing platforms, the
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2022-12-02 04:42:10 -05:00
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design was advised primarily by relative software complexity, not by how fast
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it could run on new hardware standards. Features were weighted against the
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relative difficulty they would add for programmers implementing their own
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emulators."
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