Inside the 12‑Year C++ Nightmare: How a 600‑Million‑Line Project Failed

This Project's Nightmare

An ex‑consultant who worked on a French government‑commissioned software project describes how a seemingly simple contract turned into a twelve‑year disaster, lasting over a decade before the project lead was arrested.

Key Statistics

More than 6 million lines of C++ code

Over 50 000 classes

Outdated C++ syntax limited to an unsupported operating system

Built on CORBA

Database software from a bankrupt vendor

Multiple overlapping UI layers, none maintained by the original authors

40‑50 threads required to run the UI

Compilation on 32 machines took 48 hours

Executable size hundreds of megabytes due to static linking

Startup time around 15 minutes, with crashes occurring within 30 seconds to 30 minutes

Why It Was So Bad

The codebase was massive and written in a complex, outdated version of C++, making maintenance extremely difficult. Even reading the entire source would take a programmer about a week of nonstop work.

Typical bugs included a right‑click menu that took 45 minutes to generate and a CD‑ROM data load that required days to read 700 MB of data.

Version Control Chaos

The team operated without any version‑control system for years. When they finally adopted one, it was a clunky GUI tool that required a dedicated four‑person “version‑control team.” Check‑outs needed a week‑long appointment, changes required managerial approval, and merges were painful and error‑prone.

Team Composition

At its peak the project had 55 staff, but only 20 were programmers; the remaining 35 were managers, many without software‑engineering experience. This imbalance led to inefficient decision‑making and a lack of technical direction.

Absurd Management Practices

Strict 9 am arrival policy enforced by firing anyone arriving even a minute late.

Coffee machine disabled for days to force “productivity.”

Terrible restroom conditions as a deterrent to taking breaks.

These draconian rules contributed to a toxic work environment.

Inevitable Outcome

The project entered a vicious cycle: lack of expertise caused inefficiency, which increased costs, prompting layoffs of experienced staff, further reducing efficiency. Management tolerated the decline to avoid admitting failure, passing the burden to successors.

Eventually, the company’s leadership was arrested for embezzlement, and the project finally terminated after more than a decade of suffering.

Lessons for Developers

Avoid using C++ for projects that can be done with safer languages.

Prefer small, flexible projects over large, bureaucratic ones.

Object‑oriented databases are often problematic.

Stay away from outdated middleware like CORBA.

Beware of overbearing product managers.