[SystemSafety] Modelling and coding guidelines: "Unambiguous Graphical Representation"

[Martyn Thomas]

On 01/03/2016 14:15, paul_e.bennett at topmail.co.uk wrote:
> There was a saying that went something like
>
> "You can make it simple enough there are obviously no errors
> or you can make it so complex there are no obvious errors"
>
> I tend to favour the former approach.


This comes from Tony Hoare's Turing Award lecture.

"There are two ways of constructing a software design: One way is to
make it so simple that there are obviously no deficiencies, and the
other way is to make it so complicated that there are no obvious
deficiencies. The first method is far more difficult. It demands the
same skill, devotion, insight, and even inspiration as the discovery of
the simple physical laws which underlie the complex phenomena of nature."

He also said (about PL/1):

"At first I hoped that such a technically unsound project would collapse
but I soon realized it was doomed to success. Almost anything in
software can be implemented, sold, and even used given enough
determination. There is nothing a mere scientist can say that will stand
against the flood of a hundred million dollars. But there is one quality
that cannot be purchased in this way — and that is reliability. The
price of reliability is the pursuit of the utmost simplicity. It is a
price which the very rich find most hard to pay."

and (among many other profound insights):

"The real value of tests is not that they detect bugs in the code, but
that they detect inadequacies in the methods, concentration, and skills
of those who design and produce the code."


Martyn



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