"I'm a sysadmin by profession but when I write code I don't
want to have to worry about backups, scaling, etc. Those
things get in the way of creating the product."
This is how you get yourself into the type of problems OP is talking about. You can't rely on infrastructure to intelligently save you. You can't rely on SAAS options to solve your design issues. If you aren't asking questions from the beginning like:
"How will I scale my product?"
"How will it handle failures?"
"How is it going to work at scale?"
Then you're going to be dealing with complex troubleshooting issues in a fragile infrastructure.
Just because I don't want to worry about it doesn't mean that I don't. In fact these are the things that keep me employed. The point I'm making is, the level of abstraction is increasing and putting us in a place where someday we wont have to worry about them. It's the same way as people can now create websites without needing to hire someone to build it.
Actually it gives you more to worry about. When something blows below the layer upon layers of abstraction you will be helpless. Ask anyone that tried to find workaround about a bug in a core closed sourced framework. You are suddenly playing code permutations.
I have seen the same with some of my admin friends when they throw config after config in a case where something is not working while the documentation says it works and reality says it don't.
So it will hit the fan less often, but when it hits - there will be more than enough for everybody.
Comments
"How will I scale my product?"
"How will it handle failures?"
"How is it going to work at scale?"
Then you're going to be dealing with complex troubleshooting issues in a fragile infrastructure.
Don't try to replace the engine mid-flight.
Just because I don't want to worry about it doesn't mean that I don't. In fact these are the things that keep me employed. The point I'm making is, the level of abstraction is increasing and putting us in a place where someday we wont have to worry about them. It's the same way as people can now create websites without needing to hire someone to build it.
Actually it gives you more to worry about. When something blows below the layer upon layers of abstraction you will be helpless. Ask anyone that tried to find workaround about a bug in a core closed sourced framework. You are suddenly playing code permutations.
I have seen the same with some of my admin friends when they throw config after config in a case where something is not working while the documentation says it works and reality says it don't.
So it will hit the fan less often, but when it hits - there will be more than enough for everybody.