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From: mitchell@community-chest.uucp (George Mitchell)
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Subject: Re: Errors aren't that simple
Message-ID: <99915@linus.UUCP>
Date: 2 Mar 90 14:19:53 GMT
References: <12643@ulysses.att.com> <2272@mrsvr.UUCP>
Sender: news@linus.UUCP
Reply-To: mitchell@mitre.org (George Mitchell)
Organization: MITRE-McLean Software Engineering Laboratory
Lines: 24

In article <2272@mrsvr.UUCP> mcilree@mrsvr.UUCP (Robert McIlree) writes:
`From article <12643@ulysses.att.com>, by ekrell@ulysses.att.com
`(Eduardo Krell):
`> 
`> And what makes you think the network wouldn't have crashed if the software
`> had been written in Ada (you seem to imply this)? Do you know the details
`> of the cause of the crash?. You're just speculating that it was related
                                           ^^^^^^^^^^^
`> to the "unsafe" nature of C.
`
`Oh, is the above a little unfair? Well, so is your indictment of C
`without: a) facts and b) experience.
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Let's have the facts, not additional speculation and ad hominem attacks.
The putative source of the problem does indeed appear to be language
*related* (not language caused).  If internal sources have evidence to
show that the design and implementation of C were not factors in this,
let's hear from them.  It is not necessary to show that other language
designs and implementations are imperfect or that the development
practices of any group is better/worse than another.
--
/s/ George   vmail:  703/883-6029
email:  gmitchel@mitre.org    [alt: mitchell@community-chest.mitre.org]
snail:  GB Mitchell, MITRE, MS Z676, 7525 Colshire Dr, McLean, VA  22102