My 2 Cents

In the software industry things that end in OS are typically better than if the OS were missing…  K-OS, er, chaos is not like that.

When chaos ensues, nothing goes well.

[Links Updated 6/2021]

The so-called experts will tell you it can’t be done; it is not possible to create bug-free software, at least at low-cost for a non-trivial application. Now it seems, we have our first documented case of ostensibly zero-defect software. continue reading…

Once again, a long period has passed since my last post. I have been very busy on several fronts. From trying to launch a new business; to finding other ways to support the development of safety-critical development. Read on to see what I’ve come up with… continue reading…

Until Agile, software processes in general focused on larger projects. When applied to smaller projects they can become cumbersome and inefficient. Agile has demonstrated its value on relatively small projects, but it does not scale up well, and in my opinion some of its core tenets are incompatible with safety-critical development. continue reading…

I just finished reading Steve McConnell’s Professional Software Development: Shorter Schedules, Higher Quality Products, More Successful Projects, Enhanced Careers. This is not a book about languages, software design, or coding techniques. It is a book about being a software professional, and about managing and leading software professionals. It is a book about the state of software development as a profession, and about what we should aspire for it to become. All that, and it is an interesting read. continue reading…

By arrangement with Amazon.com; we are now able to offer books for sale through the My 2 Cents Bookstore page. So it is, that over this long holiday weekend, I’ve spent many hours wading through the full catalog of Amazon; looking for a selection of books that would be well suited to the readers of this site.  If I can’t grow the readership simply through my writings perhaps the holidays will inspire droves of christmas shoppers to seek us out when looking for gifts for their favorite ultra-geek. continue reading…

As I’ve said before, MC/DC analysis is the bane of Level-A development under DO-178B. It is not well understood, either by developers or by verification engineers. Automated analysis tools will perform the analysis, but that may not occur until verification has begun. Fixes at this stage are far less desirable than avoiding issues in the first place. So how do we ensure that MC/DC issues do not occur in the first place? continue reading…

It has been more than a year since I wrote my first article about awesome computing power of the Sony PlayStation 3; and almost as long since it was released for sale. I’m more than happy to discover that I was not the only one to recognize the punch packed by this little gem. Gaming machines have pushed technological boundaries for years, but I don’t believe any have done so to the extent of the PS3. continue reading…

Like many veteran software developers, I am sold on the value of defensive programming. It seems that no matter how thorough the requirements, nor how good the design, things can go wrong; and I’d like my code to be able to handle it. So imagine my surprise when no less than a DER provided me with a perfectly valid and well-reasoned argument to discard defensive programming techniques altogether. continue reading…

There are many tools available to developers of high-integrity software to enhance productivity and code quality. Today I will look at some of them in brief. Future articles will explore some of them in more depth. continue reading…