Fwd: Linux reference on subs

[Joshua Judson Rosen]

Benjamin Scott <dragonhawk at gmail.com> writes:
>
> On Thu, Jun 9, 2011 at 9:23 AM,  <mnolin at embedded-unlimited.com> wrote:
> > "US vessel, the Yorktown"  .."The entire network of Windows NT machines
> > crashed. The Navy claims the ship was dead in the water for about three
> > hours;"
> 
>   There's not much real information on this, but supposedly the
> problem was in userland code: A divide by zero error crashed the
> database that supported the ship systems.  Doesn't sound like an OS
> issue.
> 
>   Franky, I wouldn't want to trust my life to anything running on any
> general-purpose OS or software, be it Linux, Unix, Microsoft, Plan 9,
> whatever.  I'd like something with known, documented, well-understood,
> finite, deterministic states and transitions, please.  Preferably
> implemented in discrete controls with manual alternatives.

FYI, Wikipedia says the the (Linux-based) USS New Hampshire's
oxygen-generator failed, two months ago; cites Reuters:

    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/21/us-unitedtechnologies-submarine-idUSTRE72K7U420110321

Not clear what OS, if any, was running the generator.

"Dead in the water" describes a whole other prospect there, though....

>   I think it was the estimable Bill Sconce who had a shirt that summed
> it up nicely: "As a programmer, I find your faith in computers
> amusing."

Yes. And..., um..., I'll forgo the opportunity to expand on that,
for the time being :)

I'll just say, `I like my science peer-reviewed, please'.

-- 
"Don't be afraid to ask (λf.((λx.xx) (λr.f(rr))))."