“C is how the computer works” is a dangerous mindset for C programmers

Re:“C is how the computer works” is a dangerous mindset for ... by ncmncm on Tuesday March 31, 2020 @03:01PM (#22741163)

It is easy for engineers, because engineers are trained to make things correctly even when that is inconvenient.

Engineers make bridges that don't collapse (unless not maintained for decades) and planes that don't fall from the sky (unless overruled by management). By the evidence, it is not easy for people who just can't be bothered to take the time to make anything correctly.

So, there are languages for engineers to use to make things where it matters if they are right, and languages for everybody else, where apparently it doesn't. Now, all we need is for engineers not to need to call into libraries not written by engineers.

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Re:“C is how the computer works” is a dangerous mindset for ... by wasted_intel on Tuesday March 31, 2020 @05:35PM (#22742881)

> it is not easy for people who just can't be bothered to take the time to make anything correctly

Laziness may make the problem more likely, but even a disciplined team working on security-critical software can make mistakes[0].

[0] https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2016-0777

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