“Change,” in this business, “is a fact of life,” and it has always been so.   And yet, the fundamental nature of the machinery has not changed, nor have the fundamental business purposes to which the machinery is applied.   Thus, throughout all of the 30 years (so far) that I have been in this business, I can see an unmistakable continuity.   Believe it or not, most things remain exactly the same.

Throughout the entire history of the computer, the hardware has been advancing rapidly, and the software has been very eagerly playing catch-up.   Every one of the advances that you speak of are simply the latest flip of that very old coin.   It has also always been true that we build upon the past, and keep it around, even as we insist that the past is surely about ready to be buried.   (It never actually happens, because computer software is actually extremely durable.   Much more so than any physical artifact of machinery.)

So, the bottom line is:   (a) “get used to it,” and (b) don’t seriously worry about becoming obsolete or irrelevant.   I happen to believe now, as I have always believed, that one of the very best part of being in this business – and of being good at it, as we all are – is that it never becomes boring.   It never ceases to be challenging.   And it is certainly never difficult to say, either to an executive or to yourself, that “what I am doing has great, and immediate, business value.”   The Perl community in particular is certainly a cutting-edge example of this.   The very best folks in this business are right here.