That's true. Even then, though, you're dealing with backwards-compatibility support as the system updates. A compiled binary might run well for the systems it was compiled for, but what about longer timelines (a decade)? Will the newest system be able to easily run that compiled binary? Not always... and there's always the possibility it might include vulnerabilities that weren't discovered until later.
I was reading about terminal text editors (em, en, vi, vim, neovim, etc.), and it's interesting how some of the software that "lasts" is more like Theseus' Ship. All the original components replaced over time, but the core concepts last.
> I was reading about terminal text editors (em, en, vi, vim, neovim, etc.), and it's interesting how some of the software that "lasts" is more like Theseus' Ship. All the original components replaced over time, but the core concepts last.
There's probably a lesson about interfaces here. The thing itself is able to last and adapt if you're able to replace the components, and the components can be replaced if the interfaces between them are stable (or at least knowable, so you can change them and know what you're changing). A couple of the examples I can think of that try to do this are Linux and Clojure. Both have improved and added a ton over the years, but they've always focused on maintaining stable interfaces.
