The best known was called Internet Explorer. Every day, dozens of software stop, lack of updates, lack of teams who ensure their sustainability. Not only do the ink cartridges for your printer no longer exist, but your computer is no longer even able to “see” the said printer, despite it being well installed on the desk.
The disappearance of computer languages
“Neither archivist nor librarian”, computer science professor Roberto Di Cosmo quickly understood the problem. From the summer of 2014, he worked on the preservation of software source codes with colleagues. The idea is to be able to keep the “cooking recipes” that are hidden behind any computer program and ensure their operation. “There were already structures in place to preserve the material, for example old video game consoles, he recalls. But no one cared about the source code. »
This code is necessary on two sides: to explain to the machine how to act, but also to explain to other human beings who read it what the computer must do. As such, «the source code is part of our scientific and technical heritage”, says the computer scientist. And just like in the real world, languages are disappearing. Since the dawn of digital, an estimated 9,000 programming languages have been created, some of which are already abandoned.
Keep everything, even crashed software
The backup project took shape under the name of Software Heritage in 2016, with the support of Inria (National Institute for Research in Digital Science and Technology) and Unesco. Since then, around twenty partners have joined the initiative. “We keep everything, regardless of the purpose of the software, its quality, or its origin, and even if it’s buggydescribes the computer scientist. We are not curators, we make no choices. »
Over 12 billion unique source files have already been collected. But why keep everything? «We can see Software Heritage as an Alexandria library of software, to preserve all the knowledge producedwrote Roberto Di Cosmo. It’s also a fantastic tool for observing the great galaxy of software development, and helping to build safer programs. »