[SystemSafety] Candidates for the firing squad

[paul_e.bennett at topmail.co.uk]

On 20/09/2018 at 6:56 PM, "Olwen Morgan" <olwen.morgan at btinternet.com> wrote:
>
>On 20/09/18 17:31, Chris Hills wrote:
>>
>> Of course in a perfect wold  we would be using Modula 3 or 
>Oberon.
>>
>
>Oh, what a glorious excuse for a tribal culture war about 
>programming 
>languages!
>
>Languages that I would/do prefer to C, depending on context of 
>use, include:
>
>1.    SPARK Ada without a runtime system but with all the SPARK 
>tools,
>
>2.    Erlang, if it were properly standardised, especially for 
>telecoms 
>systems
>
>3.    FORTH, for small embedded applications (love the minimalist 
>language concept)
>
>4.    Tcl/Tk for GUIs (again, love the minimalist concept of the 
>Tcl 
>compiler)
>
>5.    CPN-ML compiled to native code for critical embedded apps 
>(because 
>you can generate your code from a verified CPN model)
>
>6.    Python (because we all need a language for quick-and-dirty 
>hacks 
>at some time or other)
>
>Who now DARES to gainsay these?
>
>
>4-minute warning timer started,
>O
>
>PS: We do not live in a perfect wold and Chris, like me, is both a 
>lousy 
>trypist and an even worse poofreader :-0

We are but imperfect beings in an imperfect world using imperfect tools
to try and shape our nirvanas. Yes we are bound to mess it up, and let
some things slip through, but we should not use these facts lull us into
a false sense of safety or security. It takes effort and due diligence to be
able to deliver systems that are right first time and every time.

I prefer number 3 on your list because despite its simplicity, is capable of
allowing the construction of stable systems, no matter what size. Largest
app I know in Forth is 1.4 million lines of active Forth Source. For myself,
I prefer to keep it small and as simple as is practicable.

Regards

Paul E. Bennett IEng MIET
Systems Engineer
Lunar Mission One Ambassador
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