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=-1.9 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,FREEMAIL_FROM autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: fdb77,5f529c91be2ac930 X-Google-Attributes: gidfdb77,public X-Google-Thread: 1108a1,59ec73856b699922 X-Google-Attributes: gid1108a1,public X-Google-Thread: 11232c,59ec73856b699922 X-Google-Attributes: gid11232c,public X-Google-Thread: 103376,583275b6950bf4e6 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2003-05-11 15:24:24 PST Path: archiver1.google.com!news1.google.com!newsfeed.stanford.edu!logbridge.uoregon.edu!canoe.uoregon.edu!arclight.uoregon.edu!wn13feed!wn12feed!wn14feed!worldnet.att.net!204.127.198.203!attbi_feed3!attbi_feed4!attbi.com!sccrnsc02.POSTED!not-for-mail From: "Shayne Wissler" Newsgroups: comp.lang.java.advocacy,comp.object,comp.lang.ada,misc.misc References: <9fa75d42.0304230424.10612b1a@posting.google.com> <9fa75d42.0305010621.55e99deb@posting.google.com> <254c16a.0305011035.13133e8d@posting.google.com> <9fa75d42.0305011727.5eae0222@posting.google.com> <17cd177c.0305072114.24f04783@posting.google.com> <9fa75d42.0305090612.261d5a5c@posting.google.com> <9fa75d42.0305091549.48b9c5d9@posting.google.com> <3EBEB9AE.2060704@attbi.com> Subject: Re: Using Ada for device drivers? (Was: the Ada mandate, and why it collapsed and died) X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2720.3000 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2727.1300 Message-ID: NNTP-Posting-Host: 12.254.158.139 X-Complaints-To: abuse@attbi.com X-Trace: sccrnsc02 1052691863 12.254.158.139 (Sun, 11 May 2003 22:24:23 GMT) NNTP-Posting-Date: Sun, 11 May 2003 22:24:23 GMT Organization: AT&T Broadband Date: Sun, 11 May 2003 22:24:23 GMT Xref: archiver1.google.com comp.lang.java.advocacy:63534 comp.object:63213 comp.lang.ada:37202 misc.misc:14093 Date: 2003-05-11T22:24:23+00:00 List-Id: "Robert I. Eachus" wrote in message news:3EBEB9AE.2060704@attbi.com... > Nancy's report is practically a catalog of every type of design, > management and process error you can make in building a safety-critical > system. Using Ada might have helped, at least with those two bugs, but > the real necessity was a safety-critical development process. Clearly the way this machine was developed was very poor. But what should have prevented these accidents was the judgement of the people buying the machines. It was very clear from the report that these Therac-25's were extremely buggy, that part of the operator's standard procedure was hacks to work around the glitches. I mean, the thing was worse than Windows 3.1. The machine did not function as designed, nor as any reasonable person would expect. Yet the hospital staff still purchased and used the machines. Now if this machine were something used for a relatively safe procedure, like writing a document, and all that you were going to lose was your work since your last save, that would be one thing. But these hospitals were putting their patient's lives on the line. Any hint of a flawed machine should have resulted in taking them out of service. But they had much more than a hint. Shayne Wissler