Re: Ada / Boeing 777

[ian@rsd.bel.alcatel.be (Ian Ward)]

Sam Harbaugh wrote :

> I recall it being written that each of the three were
> programmed in a different language, Ada, C and PL/M.

There was an article in Byte magazine, late last year,
entitled "Why software doesn't work" which stated just
that. However, it was said that the two other projects
were stopped, after 18 months, and the people from
the 'C' and PLM projects became testers on the Ada project.

The reason given for this, in the article, was that 
experts needed to be working together, not apart. I found
this explanation, frankly, bollocks. 

This results do not surprise me, however, because, although
I know nothing about PLM, the design requirements of 'C' -
"We need a short hand assembler type of thing", certainly
confirm  that is not up to the job of supporting the safety
requirements of Class 1 software. It simply was not 
designed (or even redesigned) for it.

I always question why someone would use the phrase like
"nuisance disconnects" to describe the relationship
between parallel projects being coded in different
languages. This phrase I have never heard of, and
neither had any of my colleagues. If, as I suspect,
it means that one project started to fall behind, then
I wonder why the originator did not just say that. My
suspicions fall into a few main categories.

1. The author knows that his readership predominantly 
   use one of the languages he is just about to slag
   off, and he knows that they will only continue to 
   buy his magazine for so long in the face of their
   language's apparent attack.
   People read what they are, after all, hardly any
   tories in England go out of their way to purchase
   a Daily Mirror. Militant feminist undergraduates
   do not tend to read Playboy magazine either, they
   often read Cosmopolitan. Though with naked women in
   both magazines, some people read both, ahem. 

2. The advertising revenue involved with not slagging
   off the biggest advertisers products. I think we
   can all think of one big example of this.

pragma seriousness_completely_gone_out_the_window
   (ON, allow_factual_recants);

3. The author is studying for an MBA and as such
   feels the need to invent confusing new acronyms and
   metaphors, to disguise lack of real talent in any
   one area. "Were all going Competitive Accessibility,
   Nathaniel. Competitive Accessibility!" Joking aside,
   I cannot slag off ALL MBA students, as I met quite
   a lot just recently, and I would trust at least ten
   percent of them to sit the right way round on a toilet.
   
   I was listening to the recant of one students viva,
   following the exam for acceptance on the course, which
   I paraphrase : "... so I was sitting in the interview
   room, and this guy said 'we've decided to take you
   this year even though you were in the lowest quartile'
   so I said 'Hey man, I don't know what a quartile is'
   amazing eh?..."

   With such capable management out there it is unsurprising
   that they have spotted the flawless c++ language, and 
   decided to promote it.

pragma seriousness_completely_gone_out_the_window
   (OFF);

Does anybody know what a nuisance disconnect is?
I think we should be told.

Best regards, 

---
Ian Ward's (learning c++) opinions only : ian@rsd.bel.alcatel.be

Fetch me the aspirin, I know c++ is a quick fix,
but all this debugger work is giving me a headache.
- What Bruce Lee might have said, were he alive today.