Re: Certified C compilers for safety-critical embedded systems

["Robert I. Eachus" <rieachus@comcast.net>]

Hyman Rosen wrote:

> Robert I. Eachus wrote:
> 
>> The Airbus 320 should bury the idea that theorem provers can result in 
>> safe software.
> 
> 
> It's always been my contention that writing the specifications which you
> will then prove that a program obeys is exactly as hard as writing the
> program itself.

Depends on where you draw the line. I have been on Ada projects where 
more that 85% of the effort and budget went into requirements and design 
(through to detailed specifcations, which included writing the Ada 
package specs).  All of them finished on time and under budget.

If you do the design right, writing, debugging and testing the package 
bodies is easy.  But I don't recommend that you contract the coding to 
Primate Programmers, Inc. (PPI): 
http://www.newtechusa.com/ppi/pressroom.asp#higher ;-)

-- 
                                           Robert I. Eachus

"The war on terror is a different kind of war, waged capture by capture, 
cell by cell, and victory by victory. Our security is assured by our 
perseverance and by our sure belief in the success of liberty." -- 
George W. Bush