Skip site navigation (1)Skip section navigation (2)
Date:      Tue, 7 Dec 1999 12:34:19 +1100
From:      "Andrew Reilly" <a.reilly@lake.com.au>
To:        Wes Peters <wes@softweyr.com>
Cc:        Matthew Dillon <dillon@apollo.backplane.com>, Kris Kennaway <kris@hub.freebsd.org>, freebsd-hackers@FreeBSD.ORG
Subject:   Re: PCI DMA lockups in 3.2 (3.3 maybe?)
Message-ID:  <19991207123419.A76129@gurney.reilly.home>
In-Reply-To: <384B228D.FFE9728@softweyr.com>
References:  <Pine.BSF.4.21.9912041823460.94804-100000@hub.freebsd.org> <199912050514.VAA58998@apollo.backplane.com> <3849FD95.F0434263@softweyr.com> <199912050646.WAA59445@apollo.backplane.com> <384B228D.FFE9728@softweyr.com>

next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
On Sun, Dec 05, 1999 at 07:42:21PM -0700, Wes Peters wrote:
> Software
> is created by humans, and humans are fallible, therefore the software
> is also fallible.

No, that doesn't logically follow.  Just because it's possible
for humans to make mistakes doesn't mean that it's impossible to
do or make something (eventually) without mistakes.  Even when
formal proof isn't possible (the usual case) careful design,
backed up by design-based assertions and tests can produce code
that does not have bugs.

FreeBSD is a big and complicated thing, but it's (largely)
composed of subsystems that can be maintained, designed and
tested by individuals.  I think that a goal of "surprise at a
crash of any sort" isn't unreasonable, and highly desirable.

I'll take "right" over "fast", and both over "features" any day.

-- 
Andrew


To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org
with "unsubscribe freebsd-hackers" in the body of the message




Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?19991207123419.A76129>