Grid software maturity

Wow, it's been two months since last post to this blog. Maybe this blogging thing is not for me. Anyway, blame it on the vacations.

Just a short post in the category of random thoughts. I'm working in grid computing, a software field that is trying to take cluster computing to a higher level. It dawned on me that grid software is rapidly evolving and that it's hard to tell end users what they should use now, because that may be the wrong advice in six months.

Then I figured that the evolution process was really a process of maturing. So in a sense, grid software is in puberty. It makes complete sense:

• it is going through rapid, sudden changes;
• some things are clearly getting better, but
• some other things are (temporarily) getting much worse
• it is getting bigger, growing more features, and
• it's getting hairy (sorry, couldn't resist that last one)

Douse richly with a sause of anxiety, unease, insecurity and rebelliousness and you'll get the typical adolescent, misunderstood, obnoxious little monsters that our beautiful little children have to turn into before they suddenly become sensible and respectable grown-ups.

So it's a phase that grid software has to pass through if it is going to come of age. But like with children in puberty, you feel somewhat embarrassed to introduce them to your friends and relatives.