Greg Woodhouse wrote:
> It seems to me that there are two threads of discussion here that are
> not at all merging. One issue is whether testing can and should be made
> cheaper. Maybe it can, but testing is the last line of defense in
> software quality, and is highly problematic, relying essentially on
> chance to hit upon the right combination of conditions to cause a
> defect in the software to manifest itself. It may be that extensive
Hmmmm.. I see what you mean, but I believe it's possible to use the
testing and certification process as the _first_ line of defense in a
good quality control program. The actual certification from say, CCHIT
would occur last, but high marks on certification should indicate that
testing, overall was an integral part of development.
> testing (in the form of clinical trials) is the state of the art in
> medicine, too. But in software we can and should do better. Every
> computer science student learns in his or her first semester that the
> halting problem is insoluble, and so we all throw up our hands and say:
Gregory is right on this count. One of the first things I learned in
computer science school was "If houses were built like software, they
would all fall down." I've always tried to do better than that in my
designs.
Richard Schilling
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