Reliability spectrum (was Re: Linux 2.2.15pre12)

From: Chip Salzenberg (chip@valinux.com)
Date: Sat Mar 04 2000 - 17:29:34 EST


According to Alan Cox:
> 'Damn out of memory' is not the thing you want to hear over the aircraft
> intercom at 35,000 feet

Drifting slightly off-topic:

I'm no expert on life-critical systems, but I've been told that it's
common for such projects forbid the use of interrupts and dynamic
memory allocation, so as to increase the system's predictability (at
the expense of flexibility). If that's true, then Linux will probably
never end up in charge of airliner control surfaces.

On the other hand, there is a spectrum of reliability requirements.
Commercial aviation is way up near the top. Even if Linux can't reach
that (and I'm not saying it can't -- like I said, I'm no expert),
there's got to be a large 'market' for highly (but not perfectly)
reliable systems.

-- 
Chip Salzenberg              - a.k.a. -              <chip@valinux.com>
"I wanted to play hopscotch with the impenetrable mystery of existence,
    but he stepped in a wormhole and had to go in early."  // MST3K

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