7 ms·

Remember that the book was written in the 80s, so some things have been adopted since then. One example is version control, which wasn't standard until the mid-

by twunde 7y ago

Remember that the book was written in the 80s, so some things have been adopted since then. One example is version control, which wasn't standard until the mid-2000s. A different example is that most other engineering disciplines require formal diagrams to be created and approved (houses require blueprints, and those typically need to be filed with the local city government) whereas most software companies often wing it with a quick description of what to build. FYI, in Sweden there's actually a museum dedicated to a ship that sank 1000 yards on its maiden voyage during a time when shipbuilders didn't use diagrams but were overseen by a master architect

joddystreet 7y ago
A software shipped with life-supporting medical equipments, for example, should not have the missing spec problem. Or, I assume so.
- bradknowles 7y ago
  You’ve heard about the Therac-25, right? That one killed lots of people.
joddystreet 7y ago
Apart from spec-ing the projects before kickoff, do you have any insights about how the engineering teams, outside the SE domain, communicate and co-ordinate?
majewsky 7y ago
> FYI, in Sweden there's actually a museum dedicated to a ship that sank 1000 yards on its maiden voyage during a time when shipbuilders didn't use diagrams but were overseen by a master architect In case anyone got curious, that's https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasa_(ship) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasa_(ship)
- sitkack 7y ago
  That is a great story on so many levels (ha). Scope creep, letting non-technical decision override technical ones.
Someone 7y ago
”Remember that the book was written in the 80s” Nitpick: 1975 (had to look it up to check whether my memory “it must be older” was right)
ken 7y ago
> One example is version control, which wasn't standard until the mid-2000s. Distributed version control wasn't standard until Git and Hg (2005). Version control has been around for decades. CVS (1986/1990) was popular in the open-source communities, while ClearCase (1992) and others were more common in industry. It took a while for Git to shake out as the standard version control, but version control in general has been standard industry practice for a long time. Let's give credit where credit is due. The need to track changes to software is not some recent idea.
kashyapc 7y ago
<digresssion on the above mentioned ship (Vasa)> Incidentally, I happened to spend a few hours at the Vasa Museum in Stockholm earlier this year. It's a glorious 17th-century wooden ship. In 1628, it sank like a stone, after travelling just one KM on its maiden journey in Stockholm waters; 30 out of the 145 people died. And Vasa stayed under water for 333 years. Then it was recovered in 1961—the only (?) 17th century ship to be preserved. Its ongoing preservation itself a singularly unique scientific project. It's a spectacular ship, with hundreds of impressive wooden sculptures, carvings and other abilities (displaying the might of the king). 95% of the ship is in remarkably original condition—because, luckily for the ship, the Baltic Sea is not conducive to shipworms. If you are around the area, definitely take the time visit it. (The small city island where it's located, Djurgården, also has other serene places.) </end digression>

by twunde 7y ago

joddystreet 7y ago

A software shipped with life-supporting medical equipments, for example, should not have the missing spec problem. Or, I assume so.

bradknowles 7y ago
You’ve heard about the Therac-25, right? That one killed lots of people.

joddystreet 7y ago

Apart from spec-ing the projects before kickoff, do you have any insights about how the engineering teams, outside the SE domain, communicate and co-ordinate?

majewsky 7y ago

> FYI, in Sweden there's actually a museum dedicated to a ship that sank 1000 yards on its maiden voyage during a time when shipbuilders didn't use diagrams but were overseen by a master architect In case anyone got curious, that's https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasa_(ship) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasa_(ship)

sitkack 7y ago
That is a great story on so many levels (ha). Scope creep, letting non-technical decision override technical ones.

Someone 7y ago

”Remember that the book was written in the 80s” Nitpick: 1975 (had to look it up to check whether my memory “it must be older” was right)

ken 7y ago

> One example is version control, which wasn't standard until the mid-2000s. Distributed version control wasn't standard until Git and Hg (2005). Version control has been around for decades. CVS (1986/1990) was popular in the open-source communities, while ClearCase (1992) and others were more common in industry. It took a while for Git to shake out as the standard version control, but version control in general has been standard industry practice for a long time. Let's give credit where credit is due. The need to track changes to software is not some recent idea.

kashyapc 7y ago

<digresssion on the above mentioned ship (Vasa)> Incidentally, I happened to spend a few hours at the Vasa Museum in Stockholm earlier this year. It's a glorious 17th-century wooden ship. In 1628, it sank like a stone, after travelling just one KM on its maiden journey in Stockholm waters; 30 out of the 145 people died. And Vasa stayed under water for 333 years. Then it was recovered in 1961—the only (?) 17th century ship to be preserved. Its ongoing preservation itself a singularly unique scientific project. It's a spectacular ship, with hundreds of impressive wooden sculptures, carvings and other abilities (displaying the might of the king). 95% of the ship is in remarkably original condition—because, luckily for the ship, the Baltic Sea is not conducive to shipworms. If you are around the area, definitely take the time visit it. (The small city island where it's located, Djurgården, also has other serene places.) </end digression>