Tools came before MCP

Developers solved this problem before MCP existed.

They wrote ordinary software that could search a database, read a file, or create a calendar event. Then they described those actions to the model. When the model asked for one, the surrounding application performed it and returned the result.

The action is called a tool. The model still produces a request. The application still does the work.

MCP did not invent tools. It addressed the growing mess of connecting them.