15 Dec
2001
15 Dec
'01
7:25 p.m.
For a little bit of on-topic goodness, what is the
group's opinion on the
trend of software engineering quality starting from ancient times? Have
we improved (practially, not academically) or worsened?
For me there was an inflection around 1990.
Before that time there were some heroic efforts that yielded
some amazing products, clear documentation, 100% predictable
operation. Many of these products tended to sell in the $10K to
$80K range.
After that time (now) we have the 'acceptable level of bugs' era
with product prices more like $0.1K to $1K, but then companies
having to run TCO calculations, with all the new problems.
1991 was the first time I heard someone argue that making 100%
Bug-Free code was Impossible.
Now, right at the inflection point came the incredible mass market
success of MS Wind. Internally, I tend to see this it as the Sept11
of software engineering.
There was a research topic a while back called 'Automatic Program
Verification', sort of a mathematically based test case compiler.
I have been away from academia for too long. I wonder how that
movement went.
John A.