Flash Gordon wrote:
> CBFalconer wrote, On 11/05/08 03:45:
>
.... snip ...
>
>> Assuming such reviews and analysis are possible.
>
> If it is not possible then your company will not get the contract
> to do safety related work, since the reviews and analysis are
> contractual requirements!
>
>> Generally I> worked practically in isolation most of the time,
>> so that hardware review (i.e. the compilers) was very helpful.
>
> I don't deny that they are helpful, but reviews can be even more
> helpful. Even on non-safety critical work I've had an assembler
> module rejected because it was not commented well enough for the
> reviewer to follow (I ended up needing a couple of comments per
> assembler instruction!).
>
>>> OK, I only worked on one safety critical project, but when I
>>> did I made damn sure I new the rules since one of them was
>>> that I could personally be sued if I did not follow them and
>>> someone was killed as a result!
>>
>> I didn't have that pressure 30 years ago, but the internal
>> urge was quite sufficient.
>
> If you were not insisting that third parties review your code,
> whatever language it was written in, then your internal urge did
> not bring you close to the level I would expect for safety related,
> let alone safety critical work.
Ah - but 35 years ago the situation was much different. I operated
on testing machinery in the labs for a 1000 bed teaching hospital,
together with mechanisms for re****ting results to the floors. When
I was done we could receive a sample and have the results printed
in the wards within 30 minutes. Aside: Epsom printers saved that
last feature, since we could get reliable printers at a reasonable
price.
I re****ted to the head of the department, who was also the Dean of
the appropriate university section. He and I pretty well decided
what was to be done, combined with lots of input from others.
There were other software people dealing with our mainframe, but I
originated the practice of building and programming embedded
systems, rather than individual bits of hardware.
Later I got an assistant, from the mainframe area. He was sharp
and teachable, and we could kick some things back and forth.
However, he drank himself to death, literally. In general my
assistants were technicians, dedicated to the actual machinery,
construction, repair, etc.
I think we did a lot, on virtually no money.
--
[mail]: Chuck F (cbfalconer at maineline dot net)
[page]: <http://cbfalconer.home.att.net>
Try the download section.
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