4 ms·

Sounds exactly like why people tell me it shouldn't take so long to get bug-free software.

msandford 11y ago
You can't see software. You can't touch it. It can spontaneously change shape, form and function in dramatic ways if a single memory bit gets corrupted. That's very, very different than physical objects.
- irishcoffee 11y ago
  Not when software controls hardware, which it does in this case.
  - msandford 11y ago
    Please point me to the software that controls the alternator/generator/starter motor. I'm not talking about the whole thing, just the part whose failure is causing the larger failure. When software controls hardware, yes things can get weirder. But the software can't cause magical things to happen; the atoms don't rearrange themselves. Bit flips tend to be much more like magic, if applied to the real world. A wrench doesn't stop working because you swap out a single atom. But software can, if you flip the wrong bit.
- TallGuyShort 11y ago
  On the other hand, I can relatively (meaning compared to physical aircraft) easily and inexpensively replicate thousands of copies of my prototypes and automate exhaustive testing. Complex systems are just complex - very few things are actually as trivial as a bystander may think.
- thaumasiotes 11y ago
  > It can spontaneously change shape, form and function in dramatic ways if a single memory bit gets corrupted. > That's very, very different than physical objects. True... spontaneous changes to the structure of physical objects are quite a bit more likely. One of software's greatest features is that it's not subject to the physical wear that physical tools experience.
lmm 11y ago
Once you can consistently reproduce a particular bug it's a small step to fixing it.
- jacquesm 11y ago
  Could we please have a 'usually' in that sentence. I've had one or two where even though reproduction was easy fixing it was not a small step by any accounting method. In one case the fix required a total overhaul of the system. Several months turnaround on that one between the reproduction and the eventual fix.

You can't see software. You can't touch it. It can spontaneously change shape, form and function in dramatic ways if a single memory bit gets corrupted. That's very, very different than physical objects.

irishcoffee 11y ago
Not when software controls hardware, which it does in this case.
- msandford 11y ago
  Please point me to the software that controls the alternator/generator/starter motor. I'm not talking about the whole thing, just the part whose failure is causing the larger failure. When software controls hardware, yes things can get weirder. But the software can't cause magical things to happen; the atoms don't rearrange themselves. Bit flips tend to be much more like magic, if applied to the real world. A wrench doesn't stop working because you swap out a single atom. But software can, if you flip the wrong bit.
TallGuyShort 11y ago
On the other hand, I can relatively (meaning compared to physical aircraft) easily and inexpensively replicate thousands of copies of my prototypes and automate exhaustive testing. Complex systems are just complex - very few things are actually as trivial as a bystander may think.
thaumasiotes 11y ago
> It can spontaneously change shape, form and function in dramatic ways if a single memory bit gets corrupted. > That's very, very different than physical objects. True... spontaneous changes to the structure of physical objects are quite a bit more likely. One of software's greatest features is that it's not subject to the physical wear that physical tools experience.

lmm 11y ago

Once you can consistently reproduce a particular bug it's a small step to fixing it.

jacquesm 11y ago
Could we please have a 'usually' in that sentence. I've had one or two where even though reproduction was easy fixing it was not a small step by any accounting method. In one case the fix required a total overhaul of the system. Several months turnaround on that one between the reproduction and the eventual fix.