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I find this trend slightly scary. The more certain bits of code are used, the more we tend to trust that they are good. Yet, the more time passes, the more comp

I find this trend slightly scary. The more certain bits of code are used, the more we tend to trust that they are good. Yet, the more time passes, the more complex systems get and the fewer people truly understand those core bits of code. I've been in a few situations where I've seen core bits of code with glaring inefficiencies, but nobody even bothered to check them before, because we all trusted the group of people in charge of writing and maintaining that code. Turns out, those are "mere humans", just like the rest of us, and they can make mistakes too.

dclusin 12y ago
I think you are right to be fearful. Trust isn't good enough. As our machines become more complicated, formal methods of verification & validation will become necessary for the daily programmer. We cannot trust that it is correct, we must know with certainty. We can already deliver software and hardware solutions that are formally verified to perform correctly and not kill anyone. The knowledge and know-how just isn't widespread largely due to prohibitive cost and arcane nature of the subject material. Increasing complexity and security consciousness will be the primary driver for the adoption of these technologies in the mainstream I believe. We are already starting to see the articles about formal methods appear more frequently on Hacker News, which is a more general programming and entrepreneurial audience.