🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <45gghq$7m4@lastactionhero.rs.itd.umich.edu>,
Graham <pbgraham@umich.edu> wrote:
>It doesn't do the astronauts much good, but mission control can use
>this message to debug the program after the shuttle has crashed.
>Otherwise, they can't tell what went wrong.  In this sense a run-time
>check is like that orange box full of recording instruments on an
>airplane that does nothing useful to help the pilot fly and only adds
>weight to the plane but helps investigators determine the cause of a
>crash.

Yes, that's a much better analogy.

And when somebody designs an airplane, I'm sure they analyze the
benefits of more orange-box-stuff, against the costs.  Likewise, people
who design computer programs should weigh the benefits of leaving checks
on against the run-time costs, rather than taking a fanatical attitude
that "all checks should always be on under all cirumstances".

- Bob