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From: jbs@yktvmv.watson.ibm.com
Subject: Re: Fortran or Ada?
Date: 1998/09/30
Date: 1998-09-30T00:00:00+00:00	[thread overview]
Message-ID: <19980930.153012.753@yktvmv.watson.ibm.com> (raw)
In-Reply-To: 6utg60$h6l$1@nnrp1.dejanews.com

In article <6utg60$h6l$1@nnrp1.dejanews.com>,
 on Wed, 30 Sep 1998 14:45:20 GMT,
 dewarr@my-dejanews.com writes:
>In article <19980929.214309.386@yktvmv.watson.ibm.com>,
>  jbs@yktvmv.watson.ibm.com wrote:
>>          The accident report indicates that they deliberately
>> chose not to do it in this case because they were worried about
>> performance.  This would seem to indicate that turning off the
>> error check is not cheap (in terms of performance).
>>                   James B. Shearer
>
>
>This is incomprehensible. Turning off a check eliminates the code for the
>check and eliminates the performance penalty of the check. What are you
>trying to say here?

         Let me quote the accident report again:
!In the failure scenario, the primary technical causes are the Operand Error
!when converting the horizontal bias variable BH, and the lack of protection of
!this conversion which caused the SRI computer to stop.
!
!It has been stated to the Board that not all the conversions were protected
!because a maximum workload target of 80% had been set for the SRI computer. To
!determine the vulnerability of unprotected code, an analysis was performed on
!every operation which could give rise to an exception, including an Operand
!Error. In particular, the conversion of floating point values to integers was
!analysed and operations involving seven variables were at risk of leading to
!an Operand Error. This led to protection being added to four of the variables,
!evidence of which appears in the Ada code. However, three of the variables
!were left unprotected. No reference to justification of this decision was
!found directly in the source code. Given the large amount of documentation
!associated with any industrial application, the assumption, although agreed,
!was essentially obscured, though not deliberately, from any external review.

         It appears you do not turn off the check, instead you "protect"
the check which is expensive.
                        James B. Shearer




  reply	other threads:[~1998-09-30  0:00 UTC|newest]

Thread overview: 96+ messages / expand[flat|nested]  mbox.gz  Atom feed  top
     [not found] <36068E73.F0398C54@meca.polymtl.ca>
1998-09-22  0:00 ` Fortran or Ada? Gisle S{lensminde
1998-09-22  0:00   ` Jeff Templon
1998-09-22  0:00     ` Corey Minyard
1998-09-22  0:00     ` Larry Kilgallen
1998-09-22  0:00     ` dewarr
1998-09-23  0:00       ` Jeff Templon
1998-09-23  0:00         ` Corey Minyard
1998-09-24  0:00           ` Joel Seidman
1998-09-24  0:00           ` Craig Burley
1998-09-25  0:00             ` dewarr
1998-09-25  0:00               ` Jonathan Guthrie
1998-09-26  0:00               ` Craig Burley
1998-09-26  0:00                 ` dewarr
1998-09-26  0:00                   ` Robert B. Love 
1998-09-26  0:00                   ` Craig Burley
1998-09-24  0:00         ` Marc A. Criley
1998-09-24  0:00           ` dewarr
1998-09-24  0:00             ` Robert I. Eachus
1998-09-24  0:00               ` William Clodius
1998-09-25  0:00                 ` dewarr
1998-09-25  0:00               ` dewarr
1998-09-25  0:00                 ` Robert I. Eachus
1998-09-25  0:00                   ` dewarr
1998-09-25  0:00             ` jbs
1998-09-26  0:00               ` dewarr
1998-09-28  0:00                 ` jbs
1998-09-29  0:00                   ` Dean F. Sutherland
1998-09-29  0:00                   ` William B. Clodius
1998-09-30  0:00                     ` jbs
1998-09-30  0:00                       ` dewarr
1998-09-30  0:00                         ` jbs [this message]
1998-09-30  0:00                           ` William Clodius
1998-09-30  0:00                       ` William Clodius
1998-10-03  0:00                       ` Niklas Holsti
1998-10-03  0:00                         ` Toon Moene
1998-10-03  0:00                           ` Niklas Holsti
1998-10-03  0:00                             ` Toon Moene
1998-10-04  0:00                               ` Niklas Holsti
1998-10-05  0:00                                 ` Michel OLAGNON
1998-10-05  0:00                                   ` Ian St. John
1998-10-05  0:00                                     ` dewarr
1998-10-05  0:00                                       ` Ian St. John
1998-10-06  0:00                                         ` dewarr
1998-10-06  0:00                                           ` James Giles
1998-10-06  0:00                                             ` Mark A Biggar
1998-10-06  0:00                                               ` James Giles
1998-10-07  0:00                                                 ` dewarr
1998-10-07  0:00                                             ` dewarr
1998-10-06  0:00                                           ` Toon Moene
1998-10-06  0:00                                             ` Jonathan Guthrie
1998-10-06  0:00                                           ` Ian St. John
1998-10-08  0:00                                             ` Offtopic Airport Diversion (Was: Fortran or Ada?) Harold Stevens ** PLEASE SEE SIG **
1998-10-08  0:00                                               ` Ian St. John
1998-10-08  0:00                                             ` Fortran or Ada? Gary L. Scott
1998-10-05  0:00                                     ` Richard D Riehle
1998-10-05  0:00                                       ` dewarr
1998-10-06  0:00                                     ` Michel OLAGNON
1998-10-07  0:00                                       ` Ian St. John
1998-09-29  0:00                   ` Gautier.DeMontmollin
1998-09-29  0:00                   ` Dean F. Sutherland
1998-09-29  0:00                   ` Dean F. Sutherland
1998-10-02  0:00                   ` Geoff Bull
1998-10-02  0:00                   ` Robert I. Eachus
1998-10-02  0:00                     ` jbs
1998-10-02  0:00                       ` William Clodius
1998-10-03  0:00                         ` jbs
1998-10-03  0:00                           ` Larry Elmore
1998-10-06  0:00                           ` Robert I. Eachus
1998-10-06  0:00                             ` Pat Rogers
1998-09-24  0:00           ` Jeff Templon
1998-09-25  0:00             ` Dale Stanbrough
1998-09-30  0:00               ` Daniel Barker
1998-09-30  0:00                 ` Lawrence Kirby
1998-10-01  0:00                   ` Aaron Crane
1998-10-02  0:00                 ` Fortran or Ada or gobbledygook? Wes Groleau
1998-10-05  0:00                 ` Fortran or Ada? Terry Devine
1998-09-25  0:00             ` dewarr
     [not found]           ` <6udre0$ha1$1@nnrp1.dejane <6utg60$h6l$1@nnrp1.dejanews.com>
1998-10-01  0:00             ` robin_v
1998-09-22  0:00     ` Rakesh Malhotra
1998-09-23  0:00     ` Frank Ecke
1998-09-23  0:00   ` bglbv
1998-09-23  0:00     ` Robert I. Eachus
1998-09-24  0:00       ` Richard D Riehle
1998-09-23  0:00 Marin David Condic, 561.796.8997, M/S 731-96
  -- strict thread matches above, loose matches on Subject: below --
1998-09-23  0:00 Marin David Condic, 561.796.8997, M/S 731-96
1998-09-23  0:00 ` Gisle S{lensminde
1998-09-24  0:00   ` John McCabe
1998-09-24  0:00     ` Gisle S{lensminde
1998-09-24  0:00     ` Dean F. Sutherland
1998-09-24  0:00 ` Samuel T. Harris
1998-09-24  0:00 Walt Brainerd
1998-09-25  0:00 ` Robert I. Eachus
1998-09-25  0:00 ` dewarr
1998-10-05  0:00 Condic, Marin D.
1998-10-05  0:00 robin
1998-10-05  0:00 Robert I. Eachus
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