Java Reference
In-Depth Information
Typical Therac-25 Facility
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The hardware safety devices were removed in the Therac-25 and replaced by
checks in the software, presumably to save cost.
Frank Houston of the FDA wrote in 1985: ȒA significant amount of software for
life-critical systems comes from small firms, especially in the medical device
industry; firms that fit the profile of those resistant to or uninformed of the
principles of either system safety or software engineeringȓ [
4
].
Who is to blame? The programmer? The manager who not only failed to ensure
that the programmer was up to the task but also didn't insist on comprehensive
testing? The hospitals that installed the device, or the FDA, for not reviewing the
design process? Unfortunately, even today there are no firm standards of what
constitutes a safe software design process.
CHAPTER SUMMARY
1. An array is a sequence of values of the same type.
