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Re: I need to vent some steam

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On Mon, 9 Mar 2015 08:52:33 -0700 (PDT)
Xcott Craver <xcottcraver@gmail.com> wrote:

> On Thursday, March 5, 2015 at 11:16:48 AM UTC-5, Anders Wegge Keller wrote:
> 
> >  The whole code base is filled with dubious constructs like this,
> > encompassing a strange mix of programming paradigms, including what looks
> > like an attempt at functional programming via RPC calls. This gem was the
> > straw that broke the camel's back.
> 
> I have no joke here, but I'd like to point out that the 2009 Underhanded C
> Contest was to write bad luggage handling code:
> 
> http://underhanded-c.org/_page_id_22.html
> 
> The goal was to design the code so that a weird comment field would 
> re-route an unruly customer's luggage to the wrong place by "accident."
> Many of the entries took advantage of ambiguity in string termination.
> 
> So if you ever get frustrated with horrible C code to manage a real 
> airport, you can always take a break and look at a simulation of the same
> thing.

Don't get me started...

 * "What do you mean 'You cannot check in 187 bags at this flight'?" [1]
 * External systems infinitely retrying with the same message on a NACK. [2]
 * Destination redirects within the critical 50ms time window. [3]

1. A tour guide checking in all bags for the entire party. The system
   kaboomed over the ensuing buffer overflow.

2. The IATA standard for information about flights is a key-value system,
   encoded as key/value/key/value/... For some reason the flight planning
   system at one airport was sending N/A when a Gate wasn't yet planned. And
   when it got a NACK on that telegram, it resent it infinitely.

3. An item being re-routed at the same time where a destination unavailable
   message was received from the lower level. As the upper level control did
   not expect that reply, no further actions took place. Even though the
   critical window was <50ms, it happened 5-10 times a month. 

 Working in aftersales/L2 hotline/EOL support bring up all kind of corner
cases. Long time ago, I decided that contributing bugs that I've found and
fixed to the IOCCC would be unethical. But maybe I should start collecting
notes, and write a book when I retire.
-- 
//Wegge

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Thread

I need to vent some steam Anders Wegge Keller <wegge@geostat.dk> - 2015-03-05 17:01 +0100
  Re: I need to vent some steam Morris Dovey <mrdovey@iedu.com> - 2015-03-05 10:32 -0600
  Re: I need to vent some steam Richard Heathfield <rjh@cpax.org.uk> - 2015-03-05 17:04 +0000
    Re: I need to vent some steam Ben Bacarisse <ben.usenet@bsb.me.uk> - 2015-03-05 17:42 +0000
    Re: I need to vent some steam glen herrmannsfeldt <gah@ugcs.caltech.edu> - 2015-03-05 19:16 +0000
      Re: I need to vent some steam jacob navia <jacob@spamsink.net> - 2015-03-05 20:47 +0100
    Re: I need to vent some steam Anders Wegge Keller <wegge@geostat.dk> - 2015-03-05 20:52 +0100
    Re: I need to vent some steam Kaz Kylheku <kaz@kylheku.com> - 2015-03-05 22:20 +0000
  Re: I need to vent some steam Ben Bacarisse <ben.usenet@bsb.me.uk> - 2015-03-05 17:51 +0000
  Re: I need to vent some steam Kaz Kylheku <kaz@kylheku.com> - 2015-03-05 22:20 +0000
  Re: I need to vent some steam Geoff <geoff@invalid.invalid> - 2015-03-05 23:14 -0800
    Re: I need to vent some steam Bartc <bc@freeuk.com> - 2015-03-06 10:41 +0000
      Re: I need to vent some steam Geoff <geoff@invalid.invalid> - 2015-03-06 08:03 -0800
        Re: I need to vent some steam Bartc <bc@freeuk.com> - 2015-03-06 16:50 +0000
          Re: I need to vent some steam Malcolm McLean <malcolm.mclean5@btinternet.com> - 2015-03-06 15:32 -0800
          Re: I need to vent some steam Öö Tiib <ootiib@hot.ee> - 2015-03-07 07:59 -0800
            Re: I need to vent some steam Geoff <geoff@invalid.invalid> - 2015-03-07 16:22 -0800
              Re: I need to vent some steam James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2015-03-07 19:45 -0500
                Re: I need to vent some steam Geoff <geoff@invalid.invalid> - 2015-03-07 17:21 -0800
                Re: I need to vent some steam Bartc <bc@freeuk.com> - 2015-03-08 10:29 +0000
                Re: I need to vent some steam Geoff <geoff@invalid.invalid> - 2015-03-08 13:37 -0700
          Re: I need to vent some steam Geoff <geoff@invalid.invalid> - 2015-03-07 16:20 -0800
        Re: I need to vent some steam Anders Wegge Keller <wegge@geostat.dk> - 2015-03-06 17:54 +0100
          Re: I need to vent some steam Geoff <geoff@invalid.invalid> - 2015-03-06 09:58 -0800
    Re: I need to vent some steam Morris Dovey <mrdovey@iedu.com> - 2015-03-07 02:29 -0600
      Re: I need to vent some steam Ben Bacarisse <ben.usenet@bsb.me.uk> - 2015-03-07 11:01 +0000
      Re: I need to vent some steam Tim Rentsch <txr@alumni.caltech.edu> - 2015-03-24 10:46 -0700
  Re: I need to vent some steam Richard Damon <Richard@Damon-Family.org> - 2015-03-06 08:34 -0500
    Re: I need to vent some steam Les Cargill <lcargill99@comcast.com> - 2015-03-06 08:17 -0600
      Re: I need to vent some steam Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2015-03-06 08:02 -0800
      Re: I need to vent some steam Richard Damon <Richard@Damon-Family.org> - 2015-03-06 22:38 -0500
    Re: I need to vent some steam Malcolm McLean <malcolm.mclean5@btinternet.com> - 2015-03-06 15:44 -0800
      Re: I need to vent some steam Ian Collins <ian-news@hotmail.com> - 2015-03-07 13:35 +1300
  Re: I need to vent some steam Ian Collins <ian-news@hotmail.com> - 2015-03-07 07:42 +1300
  Re: I need to vent some steam raltbos@xs4all.nl (Richard Bos) - 2015-03-06 22:51 +0000
  Re: I need to vent some steam Michael Angelo Ravera <maravera@prodigy.net> - 2015-03-06 16:48 -0800
  Re: I need to vent some steam Xcott Craver <xcottcraver@gmail.com> - 2015-03-09 08:52 -0700
    Re: I need to vent some steam Anders Wegge Keller <wegge@geostat.dk> - 2015-03-09 21:11 +0100
      Re: I need to vent some steam Kaz Kylheku <kaz@kylheku.com> - 2015-03-09 20:16 +0000
        Re: I need to vent some steam Anders Wegge Keller <wegge@geostat.dk> - 2015-03-09 21:38 +0100
          Re: I need to vent some steam Kaz Kylheku <kaz@kylheku.com> - 2015-03-09 20:54 +0000
            Re: I need to vent some steam David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2015-03-10 09:02 +0100
              Re: I need to vent some steam Robert Wessel <robertwessel2@yahoo.com> - 2015-03-10 05:34 -0500
        Re: I need to vent some steam Robert Wessel <robertwessel2@yahoo.com> - 2015-03-09 19:15 -0500
      Re: I need to vent some steam Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2015-03-10 07:55 -0700

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