dusty deck

2 definitions found

dusty deck - Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (26 May 2007) :

  dusty deck
  
     Old software (especially applications) which one is obliged to
     remain compatible with, or to maintain.  DP types call this
     "legacy code", a term hackers consider smarmy and excessively
     reverent.  The term implies that the software in question is a
     holdover from card-punch days.  Used especially when referring
     to old scientific and number crunching software, much of
     which was written in Fortran and very poorly documented but is
     believed to be too expensive to replace.  See fossil;
     compare crawling horror.
  
     [Jargon File]
  

dusty deck - Jargon File (4.4.4, 14 Aug 2003) :

  dusty deck
   n.
  
     Old software (especially applications) which one is obliged to remain
     compatible with, or to maintain (DP types call this legacy code, a
     term hackers consider smarmy and excessively reverent). The term
     implies that the software in question is a holdover from card-punch
     days. Used esp. when referring to old scientific and
     number-crunching software, much of which was written in FORTRAN and
     very poorly documented but is believed to be too expensive to
  replace.
     See fossil; compare crawling horror.