This is pure goal post shifting. Without massive and expensive maintenance, many of these bridges would be unusable, having crumbled to the point of destruction. Pretty much period.
TeX is not 50, I had not meant to imply it was. Just that it is a relatively old piece of software that has had virtually no maintenance compared to many other pieces of software.
Could it have used an overhaul? It is certainly debatable. However, Knuth has had massive success in keeping it working without worrying about use cases that just were not the aim of software.
To continue the comparison with bridges, it is not uncommon for them to have restrictions saying that large trucks can not cross them. This is not a recommendation, it is a requirement. In the software world, many would have modified TeX to do such things as typeset documents miles wide. Because, generality! Or some such.
And the concerns you have about people not knowing what an "underfilled hbox" means is simply a lack of training. I would be surprised if anyone I work with below the age of 25 has even heard of TeX, much less read the documentation for it. Heck, I could probably raise that to 40.
So, my assertion is that the fact that TeX is still very much usable shows that it was "well engineered." Would it require somewhat expensive training? Sure, but how is that any different than the maintenance of bridges?
TeX is not 50, I had not meant to imply it was. Just that it is a relatively old piece of software that has had virtually no maintenance compared to many other pieces of software.
Could it have used an overhaul? It is certainly debatable. However, Knuth has had massive success in keeping it working without worrying about use cases that just were not the aim of software.
To continue the comparison with bridges, it is not uncommon for them to have restrictions saying that large trucks can not cross them. This is not a recommendation, it is a requirement. In the software world, many would have modified TeX to do such things as typeset documents miles wide. Because, generality! Or some such.
And the concerns you have about people not knowing what an "underfilled hbox" means is simply a lack of training. I would be surprised if anyone I work with below the age of 25 has even heard of TeX, much less read the documentation for it. Heck, I could probably raise that to 40.
So, my assertion is that the fact that TeX is still very much usable shows that it was "well engineered." Would it require somewhat expensive training? Sure, but how is that any different than the maintenance of bridges?