Did you know…Software Gods
…that there are 420,000 lines of code in the program that runs the space shuttle? This software never crashes, it never needs rebooting, and it is the closest thing to bug-free that humans could ever imagine.
The last 11 versions of this software had a total of 17 errors. Commercial programs of equivalent complexity would have around 5,000 errors. This comes from a level of planning that would be nothing short of excruciating to most of us. About 1/3 of the process of designing is before anyone writes a single line of code, and this is with a customer that does not have to be reminded of the difference between the “internet”, “intranet”, and the “web”.
For example, take the one change that involved allowing the space shuttle to use GPS satellites to navigate. This change amounted to 1.5% of the total program, at around 6,366 lines of code. the specifications for this one change ran 2,500 pages!!! The specs for the entire program are contained in 30 volumes with more than 40,000 pages.
The result: the shuttle group finds over 85% of all errors before formal testing, and 99.99% before delivery to the customer. Of course, they also rate as the most expensive programmers on the face of the earth, at around $84 per line of code.
For the whole story (oldie but a goodie) have a peak: http://www.fastcompany.com/online/06/writestuff.html