Well this is the thing, there are layers of software to recover (or "undo") from silly mistakes. Even with the phpMyAdmin example, he had backups. I don't think there's a lack of undo utilities, it's more a case that tools to undo sysadmin mistakes are often another layer of software lower down in the stack.
The docker example is a great one though. Lately I've been doing a lot of work with FreeBSD and using Jails (which, if you weren't already aware, are OS level containers for FreeBSD). And using ZFS to snapshot the Jail. I've worked with virtual machines before, but I just love the ability to take snapshots of an environment before making potentially dangerous changes.
It's probably also worth noting that some of authors examples also demonstrate why you should be using root access for every day operations.
The thing is, I do relate to the point he's making, but it also feels a little like he's blaming application developers for his own mistakes (using root access for general usage, not backing up config files nor snapshots, etc). So while I think it's great that tools are getting better and easier to use, we also need to be careful not to depend on these things to save us from our own laziness. Because that level of complacency will lead to more mistakes than if the tools required our greater concentration (as the adage goes: "the more idiot proof you make something, the bigger the idiot that comes along")
The docker example is a great one though. Lately I've been doing a lot of work with FreeBSD and using Jails (which, if you weren't already aware, are OS level containers for FreeBSD). And using ZFS to snapshot the Jail. I've worked with virtual machines before, but I just love the ability to take snapshots of an environment before making potentially dangerous changes.
It's probably also worth noting that some of authors examples also demonstrate why you should be using root access for every day operations.
The thing is, I do relate to the point he's making, but it also feels a little like he's blaming application developers for his own mistakes (using root access for general usage, not backing up config files nor snapshots, etc). So while I think it's great that tools are getting better and easier to use, we also need to be careful not to depend on these things to save us from our own laziness. Because that level of complacency will lead to more mistakes than if the tools required our greater concentration (as the adage goes: "the more idiot proof you make something, the bigger the idiot that comes along")