Missing here and in the comments so far: because we categorically refuse to learn lessons from the past and to improve on what is already there, instead we keep on re-inventing the wheel in interesting and novel ways which then come with their own sets of problems which usually only show up after a couple of years. By then of course it is too late.
This has been going on as long as I've been active with computers. I think a part of the driving force behind this was the speed with which computers became faster. There simply wasn't time enough to absorb the lessons before the 'old' stuff looked small and obsolete in view of our new powers.
But if you look at old and mature software systems (Common LISP, Erlang, D and others of that vintage) you'll find that the degree of thought that went into them and making them bullet-proof is still very much absent of that which drives a large portion of the software industry today. We're probably destined to go through this sort of cycle at least a couple of more times, if not forever.
This has been going on as long as I've been active with computers. I think a part of the driving force behind this was the speed with which computers became faster. There simply wasn't time enough to absorb the lessons before the 'old' stuff looked small and obsolete in view of our new powers.
But if you look at old and mature software systems (Common LISP, Erlang, D and others of that vintage) you'll find that the degree of thought that went into them and making them bullet-proof is still very much absent of that which drives a large portion of the software industry today. We're probably destined to go through this sort of cycle at least a couple of more times, if not forever.