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What? Software is immortal and binary - there are no transcription errors or mutations in a correct copy routine. Why shouldn't software be set and forget? Don
by analognoise 5y ago
What? Software is immortal and binary - there are no transcription errors or mutations in a correct copy routine.
Why shouldn't software be set and forget? Don't Ada and VHDL have massive amounts of re-use of things written in the 80's and 90's?
- sidpatil 5y agoThe software may not change, but the world around it does.
- analognoise 5y agoThat's bullshit I regularly re-use old code. Let's just admit it - that's a cover for today's bad programmers.
- sidpatil 5y agoI should clarify: I'm talking about software related to security. I'm sure you wouldn't want to use outdated broken crypto just because libraries already exist for it, for example.
- analognoise 5y agoThat's a great counterexample.
- hilbert42 5y ago"- there are no transcription errors or mutations in a correct copy routine." You only know it's correct after you verify the fact so formally that should read ...correct copy and verify routine. Incidentally, we used to have switches to verify after copy such as /v but programming sloppiness and impatience - in having to wait extra time for the verify - has meant that the entropy for data processing integrity has increase as a consequence. Right, no one seems to give a damn about such matters these days.
- analognoise 5y agoIt's sad.
- goalieca 5y ago> Why shouldn't software be set and forget? Even if you had bug-free hardware and formally verified software, your cryptography is broken and your kit has side channel issues that were never dreamed of 20 years ago.