Evaluation of Safety-Critical Software Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Evaluation of Safety-Critical Software - Essay Example To that end, there were several attempts to measure the dependability of safety-critical software. Similarly, Harlan Mills and his colleagues had developed a process called â€Å"clean room† that utilized independent testing groups to act as end users of programmable devices and were said to generate reliable results than the common practice of software professionals who performed a series of carefully planned tests to measure the reliability of their owned inventions. All things considered, an exhaustive mathematical test, not only based on intuitive reasoning, must be conducted to ensure the trustworthiness of safety-critical software. Programmable computers are tools that provide convenience to the end users, however, devices that are controlled by safety-critical software can threaten lives of people, as well. To that end, an extreme discipline in design in the making is needed. Data and related information should be laid out in a way that it could be easily comprehended by an independent group of testers. That is to say that â€Å"clean room† as developed by Harlan Mills and company must be applied to prevent unbiased results. Human errors often occurred, especially when software professionals would try to self-assist their own works. With this in mind, why engineers had chosen software instead of hardware? In the first place, software components were less expensive than hard-wired logic. These components were massed produced. Secondly, logic, in theory, that was implemented on software could be easily changed than of the one implemented on the hard-wired device. Lastly, software is more flexible than of non-computerized system. For instance, the modern computer technology could provide more information to the end users in a more convenient manner. Less space and power were needed to produce this information.

The Problem of Moral Judgment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Problem of Moral Judgment - Essay Example It is reality beyond suspicion that every political establishment and social set up observes some specific code of law that permits or prohibits the actions of the people, violation of which declares the law breakers as offenders and punishment and penalties are inflicted upon them. Nevertheless, moral values maintain imperative worth everywhere in the world and no society can do away without moral values altogether. Consequently, moral judgment has been debatable subject for theorists, scholars, intellectuals and philosophers since ever. The theorists are in conflict regarding the evaluation of moral judgment. One group of the scholars, led by Sir Bertrand Russell, views moral judgment as entirely the outcome of one’s personal opinion about the goodness or evil of an action i.e. subjectivism, while the other school of thought, led by Blanchard, views moral judgment to be based on objectivism, where it is estimated on the foundation of universal morality and truthfulness, and thus it has no relation with the personal yardstick to measure whether an act or intention is virtue and right or vice and wrong. Hence, conflict of opinion makes moral judgment a problem to be solved in an intellectual manner. Renowned philosopher Ewing is an arch supporter of the idea of objectivism. He is of the opinion that a person cannot be wrong in making statement regarding moral judgment, and thus his views are valid and accurate that must be accepted to be true and apposite one. Moral judgment is a complex phenomenon; consequently it cannot be made by everyone without analyzing the available facts and figures. On the contrary, scholars and intellectuals endorse their statements to accept or reject its validity. No Continuity/Unity to Subjective Agreements: Ewing has explained his argument in six points in favor of the opinion he has made while defining moral judgment, where he submits to state that it seldom occurs in real life while