There is a line of thought of programmers that makes them hopeless and burnt-out. They worked hard on their job or on their own library. They poured their heart and soul into their craft with all the best material they can search within themselves. A certain level success came to them and some people started to use their libraries. It might even happens that their code goes into some project production and eventually reach to end user.
At one point the glory and fame (actual or in their mind) started to fade out and their libraries were replaced by new solutions or new approaches. The programmers started to question the meaning of their craft. Their effort seemed to be temporary with no positive lasting legacy. Some programmers fall into despair and burnt-out.
“What systems are still running my code? Do what I build amount to anything at all?” - The programmers ask.
I can see myself fall into this line of thought. I can certainly become hopeless and despair if I can not find anything to offset this negative reality. The reality that everything would be replaced at some point.
I try counter this thought with the fact that there have been 300 billions people in this world. Most of them have come and gone and their names were lost in time. Most of their works and talks collapsed and disintergrated. But I don’t think those things are meaningless. For the first reason is that most human works eventually collapse. Your car can be functioning a few decades if you have good maintenance, then it falls apart and you must buy a new car. Most engineering achievements by humans are like that. They fail their fight against “entropy”. Another reason is that although people names are lost in time, their methods and ideas live on a bit longer, perhaps quietly in books, in machines or in orther people ways of life.
Long story short to answer for the question. I just want to say that despite of the inevitable disappearance of my work, at some time it serves people to deal with their living problems and that by itself is meaningful enough to keep me going. In the end dust will just return to dust and all of my code is removed, I still have no reason to resent this reality because it is just the same reality for another 300 billions people for hundred thousands of years.
hgn's note