"Doug Dotson" dougdotson@NOSPAMcablespeedNOSPAMcom wrote in message
...
Actually, there are 5 computers on the shuttle. 4 were programmed by IBM
and one was
programmed totally independently by Burroughs I think. Reason was so the
a systematic bug in the IBM code would not likely show up in the backup
Burroughes
code. INteresting that you say that NASA is a good example of how coding
shouldn't
be done, but the Shuttle project software group was the first to acheive
CMM Level 5
certification. It was the target that all groups seeking CMM strove to
emulate.

Doug

"Jere Lull" wrote in message
...
In article OoaLe.175420$9A2.145434@edtnps89,
"Gordon Wedman" wrote:

[NASA] might use laptops for some of their work but the computers
flying the shuttle are rather different. According to a book I read
some time ago these little boxes (there were 4 of them originally and
I guess this has not changed) were built to be bullet-proof. The
code was written by IBM and every one of the 100,000 plus lines was
verified more than once. The book said it was some of the most
expensive code ever written.

NASA's code has been used as a textbook example of how coding shouldn't
be done. Computers and programming have evolved greatly since the most
recent NASA (almost wrote NACA, since they are that old) OSs were built.

Sometimes it's not so much how well the bear dances but that it dances
at all.

"Glenn Ashmore" wrote in
news:Xk4Le.17506$Ie.6745@lakeread03:
Who's running on a $100K computer? Even the shuttle astronauts are
running laptops, which happen to be IBM ThinkPad 760XD specially
modified for use in space. The 760XD uses a 166MHz Pentium with
64MB RAM, and a 3.0 GB removable hard drive. They run Windows 95.

Yes, space has special concerns, but it shouldn't take 10 or more years
to develop a space-hardened computer. Yes, it's rocket science, but the
problem isn't the technicians, but the bureaucrats. Current machines are
TWENTY times faster, with hundreds of times more capacity. Hell, I have
a supercomputer on my desktop!

--
Jere Lull
Xan-a-Deux ('73 Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD)
Xan's Pages: http://members.dca.net/jerelull/X-Main.html
Our BVI FAQs (290+ pics) http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/


Yes, there are 5 computers and 5th was independently programmed. I had a
look in the book again. The 5th computer only has (had?) enough code to fly
the shuttle but could not run programs associated with the specific mission.