Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!julius.cs.uiuc.edu!apple!agate!shelby!csli!poser From: poser@csli.Stanford.EDU (Bill Poser) Newsgroups: comp.sys.next Subject: ignoring errors (was parity vs. ECC memory) Message-ID: <16642@csli.Stanford.EDU> Date: 3 Dec 90 04:45:40 GMT References: <12142@milton.u.washington.edu> Reply-To: poser@csli.stanford.edu (Bill Poser) Followup-To: alt.folklore.computers Organization: Center for the Study of Language and Information, Stanford U. Lines: 7 MRC's observation that it is generally best that memory corruption crash the system reminds me of a story told by a friend (Eric O., for MRC's benefit) about a machine inherited from the military that had a big red switch labelled "Combat Mode". What did it do? It made the machine ignore exceptions. "Divide-by-zero-error? Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!"