Slashdot Mirror
Glitches in Massive Government Databases?
HBergeron asks: "Rather then post this as another YRO in the litany of new government datamarts there is a more fundamental question for all the coding Slashdot readers out there. This story, in Government Executive magazine, outlines the range of programming glitches in what is a relatively simple database. As a matter of public policy (and taxpayer money) is this level of non-functionality to be expected in these sorts of projects? Is the contractor just ripping off the taxpayers with bad code? How hard is it to write software like this that works?" The article focuses on the SEVIS database, but have others noticed similar trend in other government information systems?
This make me glad I don't pay taxes
It's like they say, you get what you pay for. Cheap prices are only cheap if your time has no value.
Wait! But what about Linux?
Time to end the sarcasm for the day..
Dacels Jewelers can't be trusted.
Neo: I just had a deja vu.
Morpheus: What? What did you see?
Neo: I saw the same Bush pass by twice.
Morpheus: Was it exactly the same Bush?
Neo: I dunno... could've been some kind of father son thing.
Morpheus: A deja vu is a glitch in the database. It usually happens when they change something. Particularly, votes.
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Crudely Drawn Games
If everything were in hexadecimal and you didn't have to convert, I think that would solve this and many other problems.
-Libertarian secular transhumanist
That's exactly what the CIA wants us to believe! Saaaaaay...aren't you the same Professor D who was involved with the faked moon landings!
C - A language that combines the speed of assembly with the ease of use of assembly.
that "sévices" in French is pronounced "sevis", and means "cruelty".
If they go with the lowest bidder, why do they choose Microsoft over Redhat?
This is ofcourse the result of terrorists! :)
Much easier to wreck havoc on a government project and cause disruption through buggy software than to take the time to learn to fly and then hijacka nd hit public buildings. The most positive thing is ofcourse that you, the terrorist, is not killed
If the US really wants to get rid of all potential terrorists, they have to evict everyone of a certain religious and cultural group and then close the borders and let no-one in and out. This is ofcourse not possible, hence all these measures taken by the gov is virtually useless.
If you mod me down, I *will* introduce you to my sister!
One billion (with a B) dollars
Canadain?
That would be like what, like US$ 150,000?
Heh, I was going to say "What's that? a buck twenty?".
Actually, it's more like 733,360,738.55 USD.
You Yanks pay that for Pentagon toilet seats, right?
The toilet seat costs $9.99. The other $9,990.01 goes towards secret government programs like 'gell-coat' pretzels for easy swallowing, ultra fiber stain proof red dresses, and anti-nausea japanese food.
At least when we overpay for shit, we shit on it. :-D
In the past few years I've noticed a striking increase in cases of consulting firms delivering "less for more". The discussion usually goes something like:
PROJECT LEAD: I've found this bug in your code, and was wondering if you could clear it up before we go further.
CONSULTANT: That's outside the scope.
PROJECT LEAD: It's *your* code!
CONSULTANT: Well, I'm going to have to check with my PM back at the office to see how I bill this.
PROJECT LEAD: IT'S YOUR @#%! CODE. SCHMUCK (stay with me, this is happening in New York)!
CONSULTANT: Maybe I can revise our estimate.
PROJECT LEAD: LOOK YOU MORON, ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS DO A COMPARE HERE INSTEAD OF AN EQUIVALENCE (Oh, did I mention the code was in Perl -- good thing too, consultant would have been on a plane halfway to Timbuktu if it had been in Java)!
CONSULTANT: Oh, so you found the problem. Good, so I won't have to charge for any more time.
PROJECT LEAD: F$&! OFF. TAKE YOUR DAMN CODE. I'LL REWRITE THE THING FROM SCRATCH MYSELF IN HALF THE TIME AND HAVE FEWER ERRORS (IT Managers take note, this is why you need in-house staff with programming skills).
Just a little morality play for IT in the 21st Century.