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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
by 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 agoNot when software controls hardware, which it does in this case.
- msandford 11y agoPlease 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 agoOn 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.