Reviving Old Software
summary
Project revives KDE1 (and KDE2 work underway) to run unmodified on a modern Fedora system by compiling against current toolchains and adding small compatibility layers. Key steps: recreate build files with custom scripts, add a Qt1 wrapper library for missing APIs, fix bitmap path and ARGB transparency mismatches, and resolve dozens of compiler warnings when building with GCC7/Clang. Outcome: classic KDE apps launch and are usable on a current desktop with only minor visual quirks; source and scripts live on GitHub.
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chapters (15)
- 0:00Introduction
- 2:23Reviving 20-year-old software
- 7:42First ATM on UNIX
- 11:02Porting legacy finance apps
- 14:18Learning before porting
- 16:49Legacy build system challenges
- 20:03Avoid rewriting everything
- 23:57Compiler warnings and compatibility
- 28:13Live demo: 15-year-old code
- 33:35Debugging legacy graphics
- 36:30Licensing and future-proofing
- 40:43Long-term viability
- 43:26Archaeology vs practical revival
- 47:16Learning from the past
- 49:56Q&A
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