On: Ask HN: Oldest code you have written that is still in use?

[fu86]

I wrote a hacky bash script back in 2000 to manage HalfLife dedicated servers (start, stop, edit basic config stuff) for a friend. This script (I initially called "hl.sh") is later renamed into "hl-monster.sh", and finally to "hl-monster-extended.sh" with ~15000 LOC, supporting 120+ different Games and is running on ~2000 really big servers around the world. This script is the core of a big international company now. I joined this company 3 years ago and since then, we try to replace this script, but it is so deeply merged into all systems.

What have I done?

[Toenex → fu86]

15000 LOC in bash. You sick bastard.

[fu86 → Toenex]

I am only guilty for the first 100 LOC, the rest is not my fault :)

[penetrarthur → fu86]

We had a guy who wrote the other 14900 loc in a similar situation and made the whole thing really crappy. He used to say we cannot blame him because he inherited the crappy 100 loc in the first place.

[orangepanda → penetrarthur]

After a few hundred new lines ones would think a rewrite might have been more appropriate.

[panzi → orangepanda]

There is no single point in time where a rewrite is "more appropriate" than adding this one line of code. At least not when you have a deadline.

[caseysoftware → fu86]

Moot point. You still created patient zero. ;)

[blubb-fish → fu86]

Kinda funny that googling for "hl-monster.sh" or "hl-monster-extended.sh" yields precisely 1 result - this HN page.

[eru → blubb-fish]

The script probably never left the company.