Why the competition?

As a junior C++ programmer working abroad in Paris around 2001, my biggest challenge was to make my code do what it needed to do. The project was a knowledge base for industrial printing presses, allowing operators to identify the source of printing errors. Back then, the main option for such desktop applications was C++ under Windows, developed with Visual C++, Microsoft Foundation Class (MFC), and Windows APIs, designed with the Document-View model, a weaker cousin of Model-View-Controller promoted by Microsoft. The project challenged me to the maximum: not only was I struggling with C++ memory management but I also had to deal with the quirks of MFC and Windows APIs. My support back then was the official documentation, the https://codeproject.com website, and one more experienced colleague who was rarely available. Basically, I had to deal with a complex technology, as a sole developer, without a lot of support. Welcome to software development in the 2000s!...