On 07/11/10 00:44, Eli Billauer wrote: > and I can only hope that those who maintain the software controlling > my car's airbag are doing so with a deeper understanding of what each > software component stands.
Can't speak for the airbag industry. I do and did have clients in the aeronautics industry, though, and I can categorically tell you that things there are much much much better. A typical semi-critical[1] software piece designed to run in a civilian aircarft's cockpit gets allocated a minimum of 9 hours of QA for each hour of development. There are whole companies dedicated to code reviewing and certifying, and there are strict, often draconian, software design and style restrictions. I'm not sure what I feel about such bugs in the Linux kernel, but it[2] does not diminish my safe feeling while flying. Shachar 1 - Semi-critical - the pilot might, indirectly, rely on the information received, but it does not, itself control the aircraft, nor does it even provide flight-critical data. Maps are non-critical (uncertified). Maps showing the aircraft's position on them are semi-critical, and must be certified. 2 - Which is not to say that other things might. -- Shachar Shemesh Lingnu Open Source Consulting Ltd. http://www.lingnu.com _______________________________________________ Haifux mailing list [email protected] http://hamakor.org.il/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/haifux
