The Durability of Software

Erickson, Seth; Kelty, Christopher M.

doi:10.25969/mediarep/1022

Author(s): Erickson, Seth; Kelty, Christopher M.

Abstract

Software is neither material nor immaterial but durable, entrenched and scaffolded. In this article we suggest that services and software should be understood through the diverse forms of durability and temporality they take. We borrow concepts from evolution and development, but with a critical eye towards the diagnosis of value(s) and the need for constant maintenance. We look at examples from diverse cases—infrastructural software, military software, operating systems and file systems.

Preferred Citation

Erickson, Seth; Kelty, Christopher M.: The Durability of Software. In: Irina Kaldrack, Martina Leeker (Hg.): There is no software, there are just services. Lüneburg: meson press 2015, S. 39–55. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25969/mediarep/1022.

Subjects

This document is part of:

Kaldrack, Irina; Leeker, Martina (Hg.): There is no software, there are just services. Lüneburg: meson press 2015.

Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as Creative Commons - Attribution - Share Alike