status of Programming by Contract (PEP 316)?

[Carl Banks]

On Thu, 30 Aug 2007 22:56:54 -0700, Russ wrote:

>> Python really isn't suitable for in-flight controls > for various
>> reasons, and mission critical concerns is a minor one (systems with
> 
> Do you know anything about the FAA certification process for flight-
> critical systems? I am not an expert on it, but I know it is very
> expensive. If I am not mistaken, getting such code certified is more
> expensive than developing it in the first place. Why would that be so
> if, as you claim, "mission critical concerns is a minor one"?

I made no such claim; you misconstrued what I wrote.  I wrote that 
mission critical concerns are a minor reason why Python is not used, not 
that mission critical concerns were minor.

As a matter of fact, FAA cert is a major pain, and they unit test the 
hell out of everything.  I'm not aware of any reason why Python couldn't 
be certified if it passed the tests, but it likely wouldn't pass as 
easily as a compiled language.  OTOH, spiffy features like design-by-
contract aren't going to improve your chances of getting FAA cert, either.


Carl Banks