Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!sci34hub!sci!dc
From: dc@sci.UUCP (D. C. Sessions)
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Subject: Re: Today's Software Standards (was RE:some advice to a sw e
Summary: A project that didn't change
Message-ID: <793@mgt3.sci.UUCP>
Date: 1 Oct 90 15:25:30 GMT
References: <244@srchtec.UUCP>
Organization: SCI Technology, Inc, Huntsville, Al, USA
Lines: 29

In article <244@srchtec.UUCP>, johnb@srchtec.UUCP (John Baldwin) writes:
> 
> How many of you can remember a real project that was completed and
> never changed?  [I'll admit, there must be a few.]
> 
[ Bandwidth conservation at work!]
> -- 
> John T. Baldwin                     | "Pereant qui ante nos nostra dixerunt!"

Yup.

In 1980, I wrote a process control system for Westinghouse.  Since we had
no idea what the guys in the field would want next, we implemented it as
an extensible set of functions (yup, functional programming!) bound at
application time (using a pseudo-language; the process engineers refused
to "write computer programs").

Naturally, after one bug fix and two added-module enhancements, it froze.  
As of 1985 it had reached revision D (as in, 1.04); in 1989 it was _still_ 
at rev. D.

Moral: the only software which is not subject to major mutation is that 
which is designed to accomodate it.

-- 
| The above opinions may not be original, but they are mine and mine alone. |
|            "While it may not be for you to complete the task,             |
|                 neither are you free to refrain from it."                 |
+-=-=-    (I wish this _was_ original!)        D. C. Sessions          -=-=-+