bugs

Mark Wieder mwieder at ahsoftware.net
Sat Apr 8 18:52:53 EDT 2006


Geoff-

Saturday, April 8, 2006, 12:24:12 PM, you wrote:

> 1. The requirements simply say to display the date -- the date is  
> displayed. If non-modality is needed, that should be in the  
> requirements.

...and conversely if a modal display is desired then that should be
spelled out...

> First you need a clear and complete set of requirements. Note that
> there is no equivocation there. The requirements must be totally  
> clear, and absolutely complete. The requirements must be such that  
> any reasonably intelligent person can sit down, read them, and then
> answer _any_ question about what the software is to do. Furthermore,

...

> I have never seen such requirements, nor really anything close to it,
> and that's okay. Requirements like that would be exceptionally hard
> to write, and most people are willing to deal with the issues that  
> come with easier-to-write vague specifications.

I have. I had the pleasure of working for a year and a half on a
project that spent the first 60% of the sdlc hammering out a
requirements document. This was the contract between development and
QA - they could each build from the same document and refer to it when
conflicts came up. We delivered the product more or less on time, more
or less bug-free (nothing major, nothing that you didn't have to go
way out of your way to find), and received awards for the finished
product. And this was a three-tiered java app with a mainframe backend
encrypting financial data across the internet. It *can* be done. And
done well.

> Quoting: "Consider these stats : the last three versions of the
> program -- each 420,000 lines long-had just one error each. The last
> 11 versions of this software had a total of 17 errors."

> The part I don't get is: if you have it down to just one bug, how  
> hard is it to find and fix that one bug?

ROTFL.

The article makes a point of pointing out a certain uniqueness:
"What makes it remarkable is how well the software works. This
software never crashes. It never needs to be re-booted. This software
is bug-free."

I notice, however, that even with "one error" in the last version of
the software "Four identical machines, running identical software,
pull information from thousands of sensors, make hundreds of
milli-second decisions, vote on every decision, check with each other
250 times a second. A fifth computer, with different software, stands
by to take control should the other four malfunction."

...and I love the tagline:
"The sooner you fall behind, the more time you will have to catch up."

-- 
-Mark Wieder
 mwieder at ahsoftware.net




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