Newsgroups: comp.lang.misc
Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!lavaca.uh.edu!menudo.uh.edu!sugar!ficc!peter
From: peter@ficc.ferranti.com (Peter da Silva)
Subject: Re: CHALLENGE: typing and reusability (was: Re: blip)
Message-ID: <8ACALA5@xds13.ferranti.com>
Reply-To: peter@ficc.ferranti.com (Peter da Silva)
Organization: Xenix Support, FICC
References: <1991Mar26.005805.1914@kodak.kodak.com> <1991Mar27.040253.17343@leland.Stanford.EDU> <jls.670121104@rutabaga> <49194@nigel.ee.udel.edu>
Date: Fri, 29 Mar 91 15:33:09 GMT

In article <49194@nigel.ee.udel.edu> new@ee.udel.edu (Darren New) writes:
> Actually, I was under the impression that the space shuttle was programmed
> in FORTH.

No, but a number of embedded systems on sattelites *are* programmed
in Forth. The choices available, given the hardware constraints, were
Forth and raw assembly. The code for systems like this is generally
desk-checked to the Nth degree.

> I'm also under the impression that the software has never been the
> cause of a serious (for some N) problem on the shuttle.

Well, substantially delaying the first launch could be considered a
serious problem...
-- 
Peter da Silva.  `-_-'  peter@ferranti.com
+1 713 274 5180.  'U`  "Have you hugged your wolf today?"
