I'm not against doing things well - far from it - but the idea that you should try to build a perfect system that takes into account every unforeseen eventuality is madness.
Also, agree about COBOL, but software systems these days -
in C#, Java, whatever - are often larger and more complex than those written in COBOL. Partly this is because of higher user and business expectations of what can be achieved with technology, partly it's because the modern tools make it easier (or even realistically possible!) to do that. It's still the same deal though: it's all legacy in the end.
Also, agree about COBOL, but software systems these days - in C#, Java, whatever - are often larger and more complex than those written in COBOL. Partly this is because of higher user and business expectations of what can be achieved with technology, partly it's because the modern tools make it easier (or even realistically possible!) to do that. It's still the same deal though: it's all legacy in the end.