Application modernization & re-engineering (was: What should I say to a *nix community?)

One thing I would like to throw into the ring on this discussion is this:

Even though I fully ascribe to the maxim "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" ... there are times that I do believe that an old application SHOULD be re-engineered even though it is still working.

With the advent of the more modern languages (RPG included), the effort required to MAINTAIN some of those old applications can become excessively burdensome as to be 'broken' even though they function perfectly.

If an application requires sufficient modification ... a complete rework _SHOULD_ be considered so long as the benefit of rewriting it rather than trying to implement the heavy modifications (which would might make it harder to maintain in the future).

david
(writing from N53 20/W5 39)