Dave Pinn suggests that it's customers that demand the estimates.
I'd be perfectly happy to estimate if it were possible in all but the most limited circumstances
Customers and clients can demand estimates all they want, but for any sizable project (not under a very limited set of controlled circumstances) it's only going to be +/- 50%, especially if the software is particular interesting or large. Which the clients will say is "unacceptably imprecise." Anything more specific is just a convenient fiction.
Building successful software is a lot about relationships, and starting a new relationship with a lie isn't the best way to go.
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