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Debug your Code, or Else!

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the trip-down-ramification-lane dept.

Trevor Lovett writes "I ran across a collection of famous software bugs that have caused large scale disasters including the explosion of the Ariane 5 rocket due to integer overflow and the misfiring of a US Patriot missile that caused 28 deaths because of accumulated floating point error. "

11 of 485 comments (clear)

  1. but dont forget by rosewood · · Score: 5, Funny

    Remember that time when that kid dialed into NORAD and used that security exploit to get into the Thermo-nuclear war simulator and everyone thought it was real until he and the inventor were able to trick the computer into playing Tic-Tac-Toe? I see a LOT of bugs in the software there but no one ever seems to care about that...

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    The ultimate network admin tool needs HELP!
  2. Missing From The List by BiggestPOS · · Score: 5, Funny
    1) 1999 - Buffer Overflow causes Half-Life to crash while I'm in an important clan match (counter-strike) we lose the match, and I lose many friends.

    2) 2000 - Poorly coded garbage collection causes Word 97 to crash, lose last 2 hours of research paper. Class was in 30 minutes, paper was late. I lost my scholarship.

    3) 2002 - IE Crashes while writing AWESOME first post for /., My karma never recovered.

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    What, me worry?
    1. Re:Missing From The List by Novus · · Score: 5, Funny

      shock moment: Word has garbage collection!?

      Yes. It collects megabytes of garbage in files with the extension ".DOC".

    2. Re:Missing From The List by GafTheHorseInTears · · Score: 5, Funny

      4) 2002 - Windows Media Player freezes up while I'm whacking it to porn. Unfortunately, it freezes on one of those annoying shots where they cut away to the dude's face, and I'm too close to the finish line to be able to stop. Afterwards, I feel embarassed and uncomfortable, yet strangely aroused.

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      "You're just scared like a little white pussy. I'll fuck you till you love me, you faggot!"
  3. Hi-tech toilet swallows woman by DeadSea · · Score: 5, Funny
    Of all of them this is my favorite. It doesn't say if it was a software bug or not though.
    [Source: Article by Lester Haines, 17 Apr 2001, via Brian Randell]
    A 51-year-old woman was subjected to a harrowing two-hour ordeal [on 16 Apr 2001] when she was imprisoned in a hi-tech public convenience. Maureen Shotton, from Whitley Bay, was captured by the maverick cyberloo during a shopping trip to Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The toilet, which boasts state-of-the-art electronic auto-flush and door sensors, steadfastly refused to release Maureen, and further resisted attempts by passers-by to force the door. Maureen was finally liberated when the fire brigade ripped the roof off the cantankerous crapper. Maureen's terrifying experience confirms that it is a short step from belligerent bogs to Terminator-style cyborgs hunting down and exterminating mankind.
  4. The buggs that didn't happen by MountainLogic · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm sure we all have those bugs that we catch in bench testing. Mine was forgeting to add a cancel button to the following dialog box:

    "OK to delete database"

    When I caught that one I had visions of a user who had his/her million dollar database deleted charging into our office with a shotgun and ... well, you read the papers. Glad I caught that one before I released it to test.

  5. Always works right on my system by nomadicGeek · · Score: 5, Funny

    My software always works perfectly on my system. Zero bugs.

    I have no idea what the hell the users do to it to screw it up.

  6. Reminds me of mine... by thrillbert · · Score: 4, Funny

    When after sitting down for 36 hours straight when I first learned to program in C, I wrote a small, but usefull, payroll program. By the end, during the function that would print out the check, I added "Press any key to continue, any other key to abort". Lucky for me I never released that program.

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    All comments are not factual unless stated otherwise.

  7. Re:speaks more to TESTING by billnapier · · Score: 5, Funny

    Thats why I like hiring sales people and 2-year olds to test my code at the unit/integration level

    You didn't need to repeat yourself

  8. Re:Millennium Bridge - Kansas City skywalk by igrek · · Score: 5, Funny

    In the old USSR (Stalin times), there was a standard bridge acceptance test:
    1) put project managers, lead architects and engineers under the bridge;
    2) put heavy loaded trucks on the bridge.

    That was real extreme testing.

  9. Re:speaks more to TESTING by qslack · · Score: 5, Funny

    What do you have against 2-year-olds!? That was simply uncalled for.

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    qslack.com