What is a legacy? Merriam-Webster defines it as "something transmitted by or received from an ancestor or predecessor or from the past." Is a legacy a bad thing?

We name airports, roads, bridges, and even entire towns after those we respect and honor so that they might be remembered by future generations. Most of us would like to leave a legacy of some kind to those who follow. In most contexts, a legacy is something positive; something handed down to be cherished by those who follow.

The use of the term "legacy" with respect to computer systems seemed, at one time, to be limited to describing applications that were not Web-enabled. However, lately I've observed that ...