Morlock Elloi on Fri, 15 Mar 2019 06:33:38 +0100 (CET)


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Re: <nettime> rage against the machine


This is the key. Designers do not understand impact of the complexity that emerges from combining relatively simple components. This is especially amplified in real-time processing of multiple inputs.

In a completely different field (packet switching from millions of end points) we had to design separate monitoring system because it was impossible to understand what our own system is doing in real time. The monitoring code was almost as complex as the switching code. We are talking less than 100K lines each.

Airline modules are in millions of code lines. My assessment is that human life should not depend on anything with more than 50K lines of code total, period. Anyone claiming that there are proper testing procedures for huge systems is either a liar on an idiot. Enterprise software contractors are often both. The general public has no slightest idea of the dismal state of the software development industry.


Sarter said, “We now have this systemic problem with complexity, and it
does not involve just one manufacturer.

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