Python for air traffic control?

[David LeBlanc]

In article <9hrj3q$cj1 at news1.gtech.com>, peter.milliken at gtech.com says...
<snip>
> Of course, I could at this point say I would never venture into air space
> controlled by such as system, but I know it would never get off the ground
> (so to speak :-)) because to do it in Python would mean it would never pass
> acceptance testing - sure you could code it just as fast (if not faster)
> than most other languages used for this application area but you would be in
> the test phase forever - or at least until the customer cancelled the
> contract :-). So keep dreaming :-)
> 
> Peter

You perhaps feel safer with the existing system using left over 50's 
generation military radars, _ancient_ IBM "mainframes" that are probably 
less powerful then a pocket calculator that has to be manually 
cooridinated by PHONE? Some ATC facilities have been temporarily shut 
down because the burn-out obsolete discrete transistor they needed to 
function couldn't be located - no, this is not a joke! In the last year 
or so, all flights between O'Hare (Chicago) and DIA (Denver) had to be 
delayed because Chicago lost phone service due to a cable being cut and 
they couldn't relay departure information.

FAA "controlled" airspace is a joke and they've spent large fractions of 
a billion (or more) to upgrade and have by and large not succeded yet on 
a national scale.

The Canadians privatized their national air traffic control a few years 
ago and oh my! the planes RUN ON TIME!

Takes all kinds I guess.

Dave LeBlanc