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From: louns@uw-june (Michael Lounsbery)
Newsgroups: net.jokes
Subject: Request for computer science bloopers
Message-ID: <115@uw-june>
Date: Wed, 31-Jul-85 02:02:44 EDT
Article-I.D.: uw-june.115
Posted: Wed Jul 31 02:02:44 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 3-Aug-85 07:43:50 EDT
Organization: U of Washington Computer Science
Lines: 17

I've been telling my 211 class some of the classic computer science bugs --
like the one about the typo in the FORTRAN DO loop that crashed a Venus
probe, or the one about the payroll programmer who shaved the roundoff from
salaries into his own account.  If any of you know any more classic, or
even any non-classic clever hacks or major stupidities involving computers
please tell me.  They liven up otherwise dreary lectures.

					Michael

P.S. Since I have to make a joke, I'll elaborate on these:
The DO loop error was a typo: the programmer wrote "DO 20 I=1.100" instead
of "DO 20 I=1,100" and when the compiler took out the blanks, it thought
someone was assigning 1.100 to the variable DO20I.  The story goes that this
error crashed an $18 million Venus probe.

The salary shaver had to do with someone shaving the fractions of cents from
the salaries, and putting them into his own account.