`Poor programming language design makes a significant contribution to software-related disasters`- ( software engineering report)

p Software engineering report

2005

Despite the significant progress made by computing industry in recent years , failures in the software functioning still take place . The research in this area is very important due to the great role of software in our life . Today , everything starting from the kitchen techniques up to the space technologies is field up with computing systems . We are becoming increasingly dependent on software-based systems , often without realizing it . While by no means can all such systems be classified as critical , software is turning up everywhere : from

airplanes and automobiles to television sets and electric razors . Also , the percentage of software in these systems (relative to hardware ) is increasing . The amount of software in consumer products is doubling every year . For example , a top of-the-line television now contains 500 kilobytes of software

Regarding software engineering the role of the engineer is to respond to a need by building or creating something along a certain set of guidelines (or specifications ) which performs a given function . Just as importantly , that device , plan or creation should perform its function without fail . Everything , however , must eventually fail to perform its given function with a sought after level of performance . Hence , the engineer must struggle to design in such a way as to avoid failure , and , more importantly , catastrophic failure which could result in loss of property , damage to the environment of the user of that technology , and possibly injury or loss of life . Through analysis and study of engineering disasters , modern engineering designers can learn what not to do and how to create designs with less of a chance of failure

How must be interpreted the following expression : Poor programming language design makes a significant contribution to software-related disasters

Poor programming ' means the creation of software which is based on a language whose characteristics do not permit this program to cover all the needs of this or that system containing computing technologies . Poor program ' is that isn 't able to supply the system in case with appropriate relationships between its components and provide its reliable functioning

Software related disaster ' is a failure which has been caused by certain contradictions or errors in software structure . It can be a crash , accident or other emergency situation based on the imperfectability of computing systems

Significant contribution ' means that a disaster wouldn 't have been happened if the software equipment had functioned sufficiently . In other words , the software error in this case is the main reason of the whole disaster . It acts as the provoker of all the negative consequences appropriate to that situation

The initial failure of the Hubble Space Telescope is an example of problems caused by relying on computer simulations . In 1990 when the orbiting telescope sent its first photographs back to Earth the images were unexpectedly fuzzy and out of focus . NASA determined that the problem was the result of a human error made years before the launch : the telescope 's mirror had been ground into the wrong shape . The mirror , tested...