[LINK] What's a reasonable level of code-checking?

[Bernard Robertson-Dunn]

Richard Chirgwin wrote:

> Software needs to adopt the disciplines of engineering, and frankly the 
> exclusionist expert mentality could just as well be dropped down an 
> abandoned mineshaft and nobody would notice...

Maybe.

Software comes in different forms. There's a whole range from embedded, 
      engineering software up to software that automates business processes.

The software which exists very close to a physical environment can and 
does benefit from the disciplines of engineering. That's because its 
behaviour is closely tied to the physical world.

However the sort of software that works in the more conceptual 
environment of human information is much less amenable to an engineering 
approach.

Checking code will only get you so far. Unless you understand the data, 
and their meanings - which aren't in the code - you won't be able to 
predict how the software will behave. And data inside a computer are not 
the same as in the physical world.

At this level, software is more like the law than engineering. When you 
go from one legal jurisdiction to another, do you check the law to make 
sure you understand it fully so you don't inadvertantly transgress?

-- 

Regards
brd

Bernard Robertson-Dunn
Sydney Australia
brd at iimetro.com.au