Orwellian Programming in Safety-Critical Systems.

Abstract

Computers are being used increasingly in situations where lives will be at hazard if they fail. Failures resulting from software errors are both avoidable and unforgivable. This paper is concerned with the final refinement in the production of a critical program from an elementary language via a compiler to bits in some rom in the critical system. It argues that existing languages are inherently unsuitable for this purpose since they allow freedoms of expression and thought which, although convenient in some applications, lead to misconceptions and obscurities. Orwellian programming should limit one's freedom of expression so that these heretical tendencies are unthinkable by using a NewSpeak which permits only Good Thoughts. (Great Britain)

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1984
Accession Number
ADA168085

Entities

People

  • I. F. Currie

Organizations

  • Royal Signals and Radar Establishment

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Sensors

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aircrafts
  • Arithmetic
  • Compilers
  • Computer Programming
  • Computer Programs
  • Computers
  • Construction
  • Errors
  • High Level Languages
  • Language
  • Operating Systems
  • Operations Research
  • Parallel Computing
  • Parallel Processing
  • Programming Languages
  • Specifications
  • Test And Evaluation

Readers

  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.
  • Software Engineering.
  • Theoretical Analysis.