RE: FW: cygwin-1.dll long-time bug

["Dave Korn" <dave.korn@artimi.com>]

On 19 April 2006 13:59, Igor Peshansky wrote:

> On Wed, 19 Apr 2006, Dave Korn wrote:
> 
>> On 19 April 2006 04:44, Eric Blake wrote:
>> 
>>> According to Dave Korn on 4/18/2006 12:38 PM:
>>> 
>>>> [snip]
>>>> in microsoft's QA dept.... ;)
>>> 
>>> They have one?  What are the job qualifications to become a member of that
>>> dept, I wonder?  I bet even a hippo could apply...
>> 
>>   Yes, actually!  Most of their testing is done by dropping hippos on
>> software and seeing what happens.  Usually it breaks.
>>   Then they ship it!
> 
> This reminds me of the actual testing DEC did for PDP-8 and PDP-11
> machines: they dropped a machine on the concrete floor from a height of
> precisely 2 meters while it was performing some computation.  If it
> continued working at that point and produced correct results, they shipped
> it.  Eerie, isn't it?

  That's a great technique, I can highly recommend it.  Back when I was in
school, we used to test the RM380Zs by dropping them out of first-floor
windows.

  Usually they broke the concrete when they hit, not themselves.

> Oh, and in the words of ESR: "software is largely a service industry
> operating under the persistent but unfounded delusion that it is a
> manufacturing industry".  Just seemed relevant here, somehow... :-)

  Yeh, but then again, also in the words of ESR: "I will find a way to make
you regret it.  Watch your step"

 ;)

http://geekz.co.uk/lovesraymond/archive/bruce-perens-dead


    cheers,
      DaveK
-- 
Can't think of a witty .sigline today....