[SystemSafety] C for OSs

[paul_e.bennett at topmail.co.uk]

On 06/09/2019 at 1:45 PM, "Olwen Morgan" <olwen at phaedsys.com> wrote:
>
>On 06/09/2019 12:54, Peter Bernard Ladkin wrote:
>> A quote from Tom van Vleck in Risks 31.40 today:
>>
>> "It seems clear that trying to write secure operating systems in 
>C does not
>> work.  Very smart people have tried for 50 years, and the 
>solution to the
>> problem is not reduced to practice. "
>>
>> PBL

[%X]

>... Now he tells us ... ? ... :-O
>
>I doubt that we'll ever achieve truly secure operating systems in 
>any 
>imperative language. For my money, the way forward is languages 
>like Erlang.
>
>Olwen

It will certainly need:-
    1. A Clear - robustly tested specification of the requirements
    2. Proper Design subject to intense review
    3. Implementation in a language that can be thoroughly tested
        and certified for compliance with the requirements in a clear
        and unambiguous manner.
    4. Storage in a secure repository for READ-ONLY dissemination
        to all target hardware.
    5. Verfied to have been selected as the correct version
        downloaded to the target hardware.

That implies a lot more control of development process than what
I understand is currently deployed in most C programming circles.

Regards

Paul E. Bennett IEng MIET
Systems Engineer
Lunar Mission One Ambassador
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