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=0.2 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,INVALID_MSGID, REPLYTO_WITHOUT_TO_CC 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: f43e6,a48e5b99425d742a X-Google-Attributes: gidf43e6,public X-Google-Thread: 107d55,a48e5b99425d742a X-Google-Attributes: gid107d55,public X-Google-Thread: 1108a1,5da92b52f6784b63 X-Google-Attributes: gid1108a1,public X-Google-Thread: ffc1e,a48e5b99425d742a X-Google-Attributes: gidffc1e,public From: peb@transcontech.co.uk ("Paul E. Bennett") Subject: Re: Papers on the Ariane-5 crash and Design by Contract Date: 1997/03/18 Message-ID: <858728022snz@transcontech.co.uk>#1/1 X-Deja-AN: 226568704 References: <332B5495.167EB0E7@eiffel.com> <332D113B.4A64@calfp.co.uk> <5gl1f1$a26$1@quasar.dimensional.com> <332E8C1A.3A7F@calfp.co.uk> X-Mail2News-User: peb@transcontech.co.uk X-Mail2News-Path: tcontec.demon.co.uk Organization: Transport Control Technology Ltd. Reply-To: peb@transcontech.co.uk Newsgroups: comp.lang.eiffel,comp.object,comp.software-eng,comp.programming.threads,comp.lang.ada,comp.lang.java.tech Date: 1997-03-18T00:00:00+00:00 List-Id: In article <332E8C1A.3A7F@calfp.co.uk> nickle@calfp.co.uk "Nick Leaton" writes: > But lets be practical. No body can sucessfully keep documentation in > line with code, without errors. A lot depends on where the documentation of the software is located. If it's in another obscurely referenced document then your statement above will indeed be correct. However, if the documentation of the software was part of the source code file itself, this would be less the case. To do this effectively requires that code modules are small enough to enable thorough review and rigourous testing for compliance and non-compliance with its specification. > The more the code documents itself, > and in this case I'm referring to assertions the better. Also, > programmers like programming, not documentation. Documentation is not > the product! It is an aid to producing product. There is probably a whole world of difference between self-documenting code and plain code (locally) well documented. Whilst the former can be highly desirable, the latter is good enough for virtually all situations. As this documentation is part and parcel of the normal code commenting structure it is a god-send when problems are being resolved. -- Paul E. Bennett Transport Control Technology Ltd. +44 (0)117-9499861 Going Forth Safely