Len Yabloko wrote: (01)
> I am a "mason", but instead of thanking myself I prefer to find a
> better way to build software, so may be one day we could build
> that "ivory tower". Because as of now most of software is about as
> good as mud painted to look like ivory. (02)
Yup. But there is ivory out there, and it runs your automobile and
lands aircraft in zero visibility conditions and switches phone calls
and manages Internet traffic. And it is based on no more knowledge or
theory than most of the mud. What makes it ivory is that it was built
with a governing engineering discipline. And it was built by
organizations who are used to doing good engineering, and for good
reason -- a failure would result in a very costly recall at best, and
serious lawsuits over loss of life, business or property at worst. (03)
The problem we have is not a lack of theory; it is a lack of
responsibility, routinely accepted by a business world unwilling to
demand it. And we did that, because we have a 50-year-old climate of
technology so "revolutionary" that wonderful "breakthroughs" might be
frustrated by actually having to do the engineering. (04)
And in case there is any question, yes, this is a soap box for me. Our
collective approach to software and hardware and the marketing thereof
has cost the industry and the end-user 20 years! And those 20 years are
the last time the Western economies will have a technological advantage. (05)
-Ed (06)
--
Edward J. Barkmeyer Email: edbark@xxxxxxxx
National Institute of Standards & Technology
Manufacturing Systems Integration Division
100 Bureau Drive, Stop 8263 Tel: +1 301-975-3528
Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8263 FAX: +1 301-975-4694 (07)
"The opinions expressed above do not reflect consensus of NIST,
and have not been reviewed by any Government authority." (08)
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