Jerry Pournelle wanders a bit off-field when he argues against using ``trillions of dollars'' to research ozone depletion and global warming. Pournelle has stumbled into a key issue both in environmental questions and computing: safety first, often referred to as the precautionary principle. A network manager in charge of a critical system, for example, in a hospital or a stock exchange, would be foolish to balance the budget by cutting down on backups, UPSes, and antiviral software. Neither should responsible politicians limit spending on fighting ozone depletion and global warming just because the evidence isn't yet 100 percent conclusive. When it is, it might be too late.
Bjorn K. Bore
Oslo, Norway
bjoernb@oslonett.no
Flexible C++
Matthew Wilson
My approach to software engineering is far more pragmatic than it
is
theoretical--and no language better exemplifies this than C++.
BYTE Digest editors every month analyze and evaluate the best articles from Information Week, EE Times, Dr. Dobb's Journal, Network Computing, Sys Admin,
and dozens of other CMP publications—bringing
you critical news and information about wireless communication,
computer security, software development, embedded systems,
and more!
Safety First
