Talk:Computer bug
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An event mentioned in this article is a September 9 selected anniversary.
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Explain what a bug is
This page doesn't clearly explain what a bug is or why anyone would care.
When a computer program doesn't work right, that's a bug. It could be design error or coding error, but the user doesn't know or care about this distinction. The answers are coming out wrong, or a feature just plain won't work.
We could list typical causes of bugs, as well as remediation efforts or strategies to prevent bugs arising in the first place.
I'd like the article to end with famous bugs, such as the original charred moth (which justifies the term bug) as well as several very expensive bugs: Y2K ($100s of billions), Ariane (c. $5 billion), etc.
NOT the moth
The moth was definitely NOT the origin of the term bug. If you read Grace Hopper's log carefully, you will see the following points: 1. She wrote "The first actual case of bug being found" which implies that at the time of the writing, they knew of many other cases of bugs that were not actual. 2. i.e. the term "bug" was in use before this moth was found. 3. If the term was really based on some kind of insects, then, this moth would not be first. Kowloonese 21:13, 8 Dec 2003 (UTC)
Earlier usage
Just in case anyone wants an example of an earlier usage of the term bug, here's a quote from Edison:
"I have the right principle and am on the right track, but time, hard work and some good luck are necessary too. It has been just so in all of my inventions. The first step is an intuition, and comes with a burst, then difficulties arise -- this thing gives out and [it is] then that "Bugs" -- as such little faults and difficulties are called -- show themselves and months of intense watching, study and labor are requisite before commercial success or failure is certainly reached."
(Edison to Puskas, 13 November 1878, Edison papers, Edison National Laboratory, U.S. National Park Service, West Orange, N.J., cited in Thomas P. Hughes, American Genesis: A History of the American Genius for Invention, Penguin Books, 1989, on page 75) --Fastfission 10:56, 21 Feb 2004 (UTC)
Mars Climate Orbiter mishap
The explanation for the Mars Climate Orbiter mishap is wrong. It was not about confusing meters and yards. The quantity in question was impulse, not length. The report on the mishap (ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/reports/1999/MCO_report.pdf) states that the expected unit was Newton-seconds while the delivered data was pound-seconds.
This does present a problem though because length is easy to grasp for the public while impulse is a fairly unknown quantity. The concept of meters/yards is well known, Newton-seconds isn't.
Suggestion: let the text "failed to convert yards to meters" instead be: "failed to convert from imperial to metric units"
-- J-Star 22:33, 11 Aug 2004 (UTC)
Patriot "bug"
The link to MIM-104 Patriot indicates that the failure in Dharan was caused by a computer bug. There's no corresponding text in MIM-104 Patriot. If there's any support for this theory, it should be added to Patriot article. Otherwise the link should be deleted.---Isaac R 01:22, 28 Apr 2005 (UTC)
- The two articles are now linked. Search for "software error" in MIM-104 Patriot. - Bevo 22:49, 8 Jun 2005 (UTC)
Operating system bias
There were some disgraceful examples of operating system bias in the "modern bugs and security holes" section. Please, let's leave out our preferences and opinions and state the facts. Every operating system is vulnerable to viruses and security holes, not just WINDOWS. Please give us a break. The section even tried to say that Linux's "Kernel Panic" was only some kind of mythology and isn't really needed because Linux NEVER crashes! And don't forget that closed-source software is out to destroy humanity. Jesus christ...