From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.3 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,INVALID_MSGID autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: fac41,a48e5b99425d742a X-Google-Attributes: gidfac41,public X-Google-Thread: 103376,a48e5b99425d742a X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-Thread: 1108a1,5da92b52f6784b63 X-Google-Attributes: gid1108a1,public X-Google-Thread: 107d55,a48e5b99425d742a X-Google-Attributes: gid107d55,public X-Google-Thread: f43e6,a48e5b99425d742a X-Google-Attributes: gidf43e6,public X-Google-Thread: ffc1e,a48e5b99425d742a X-Google-Attributes: gidffc1e,public From: Jan Galkowski Subject: Re: Papers on the Ariane-5 crash and Design by Contract Date: 1997/03/31 Message-ID: <333FD855.2781E494@digicomp.com>#1/1 X-Deja-AN: 229649568 References: <858728022snz@transcontech.co.uk> Organization: Digicomp Research Corporation Newsgroups: comp.lang.eiffel,comp.object,comp.software-eng,comp.programming.threads,comp.lang.ada,comp.lang.java.tech Date: 1997-03-31T00:00:00+00:00 List-Id: Robert Dewar wrote: > [snip] > > Discrepancies between code and comments are bugs, often serious bugs. > Pressure to meet a deadline should never result in the technial folks > involved being willing to cut corners and deliver code with bugs. > I heartily agree with you and have left a job because of management's willingness to ship such code over the objections of some technical people. Worse, I can entirely understand how Ariane 5 happened if only because in the rush to get paid, contractors sometimes rush and shortcut systems acceptance tests, justifying their actions with rationales that are little more than handwaving and the equivalent of "Well, it worked on Ariane 4...." But the problem is, unfortunately, many people who need to make a choice between taking a strong stand in favor of correctness and possibly putting their jobs on the line and just keeping quiet, doing what they are told, will opt for the latter. This makes the job of the relative few who do want code to be right very much more difficult: Management says "How come you're the only one objecting...." I don't mean to imply what you say isn't valid: It is. It's just the world of aerospace and military contracting is more complicated than that. [snip] -- Jan Theodore Galkowski, developer, tool & numerical methods elf Digicomp Research Corporation, Ithaca, NY 14850-5720 jan@digicomp.com (also jtgalkowski@worldnet.att.net)