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C is not simple. Not even close. It's the single language still in use with at least one or two orders of magnitude more quirks than features. C is full of bo
by still_grokking 4y ago
C is not simple. Not even close.
It's the single language still in use with at least one or two orders of magnitude more quirks than features.
C is full of bobby traps. And nobody survived. Ever.
It's impossible to build reliable software in C. Even people tried for 50 years.
People died in RL not only once because of issues with the C language. I think no other language carries a real world death toll around.
C may seem "easy" because it lacks features one would need to know. But easy is not simple! Usually quite the contrary.
https://www.entropywins.wtf/blog/2017/01/02/simple-is-not-easy/ https://www.entropywins.wtf/blog/2017/01/02/simple-is-not-ea...
- rudedogg 4y ago> People died in RL not only once because of issues with the C language. I think no other language carries a real world death toll around. Can you link me info about those bugs? I'm familiar with the radiation software bugs, but they don't appear to have been written in C.
- still_grokking 4y agoThe Therac-25 used a PDP-11 computer. So I assumed the software was written in C. It wasn't? I would also assume that most embedded software (e.g. in cars, spaceships, weapons, etc.) is written in C. But I see now it's indeed hard to come up with definitive sources. A few failures can be found here (and it's easy to google some more): https://embeddedartistry.com/fieldatlas/historical-software-accidents-and-errors/ https://embeddedartistry.com/fieldatlas/historical-software-... But sadly no reference to the used languages anywhere there. So I forward the question as I'm now also unsure: Has anybody definitive sources that prove the absence of C code in the known fatal accidents?