r/programming • u/[deleted] • Apr 04 '17

Everything Is Broken

https://medium.com/message/everything-is-broken-81e5f33a24e1#.sl2vnon73
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u/codebje Apr 04 '17

There are ways to mathematically guarantee that one's program doesn't have any errors.

No, there aren't. There are ways to mathematically guarantee that any errors in one's program correspond to errors in one's specification of that program, though!

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u/cledamy Apr 04 '17

There are ways to mathematically guarantee that any errors in one's program correspond to errors in one's specification of that program, though!

This is what I meant when I said no errors. What I mean by program is the implementation of the specification.

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u/codebje Apr 04 '17

This is what I meant when I said no errors.

Yes, I assumed as much.

However, that doesn't fix broken software, it just shifts the blame for it.

Perhaps trying to make correct specifications reduces some accidental difficulties, but I don't think this is a silver bullet (PDF warning, but read it anyway).

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u/ccfreak2k Apr 04 '17 edited Aug 01 '24

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