Essay on “Software Hanging Problem” Complete Essay for Class 9, Class 10, Class 12 and Graduation and other classes.

Software Hanging Problem

Software systems are basically a type of information system. This is because a software system is a technique or method for hardware to process information. Humans have been processing various kinds of information manually for thousands of years, but with the enormous increase of demand for knowledge this century has meant that a new method of information processing has been needed. Software systems have provided a new means, which is much faster and efficient.

Software can never be developed a fault free package. They are discrete-state systems that do not have repetitive structures. The mathematical functions that illustrate the behaviour of software systems are not continuous, and traditional engineering mathematics do not help in their verification.” In other words some software can be so large that thorough testing can be almost impossible and so chinks in the software generally creep in. Several other reasons are also responsible for software systems failure, and most of them are attributed to human negligence that leads to software failure. There are two types of software systems failure. These are in the design stage of the software or in the implementation of the software. There are some examples of where, software systems are used heavily and proved fatal when they fail and includes—aviation, hospitals, space exploration, nuclear power stations and communications.

Let’s take the most famous examples of software system failure—the Challenger disaster. On the 28th January, 1986 the challenger space shuttle exploded shortly after launch as result all the seven astronauts died onboard. Initially the blame was put on the design of the booster rockets and allowing the launch to proceed in cold weather. However it was later revealed there was a decision along the way to economise on the sensors and on their computer interpretation by removing the sensors on the booster rockets. There is speculation that those sensors might have permitted earlier detection of the booster-rocket failure, and possible early separation of the shuttle in an effort to save. the astronauts. Another reason, which is attributed to system failure, is the accommodation of incorrect assumptions. Three Mile Island accident is an example of this category. A Gemini V rocket landed a few hundred miles off course because of a bug in the software. The programmer used the Earth’s reference point relative to the Sun, as elapsed time since launch, as a fixed constant. However the programmer failed to realise that the Earth position relative to the Sun, does not come back to the same point 24 hours later. As a result the error accumulated while the rocket was in space. The Three Mile Island II nuclear accident, on 28th March, 1979, was also attribute on too much assumption.

The accident started in the cooling system when one of the pipes became blocked, resulting in the temperature of the fuel rods increase from 600 degrees to over 4000 degrees. After the reactor started to over-heat the turbines shut down automatically. However this did not stop the rods from over-heating as someone had left the valves for the secondary cooling system closed. And it was impossible at that time to find the temperature because there was no reading on the temperature of the reactor core. Another reasons that can be attributed to the failure of the software system are poor user interface and over reliance on the software system.

So the software system failure cannot be attributed to just one element. In major system failures it may be due to over a dozen mistakes being made that usually results in the failure of the system. Also the mistakes have a domino effect or leads to a vicious circle of mistakes, the systems becoming worse and worse during both the design and implementation stage. Proper communication and feedback between the designers and the operators will reduce a lot of problems like a poor user-interface and incorrect fit between the hardware and software. It all starts with adequate information being given to the designers. But this can only happen if the management knows what they want. So the only way to have a successful system is to have good communications and understanding between the designers and simulators. However the most important job is for someone to take responsibility for the design and operation of the system. If someone who is competent is put in charge and takes responsibility then the system is likely to be working properly before its implementation and the simulators will have to be provided proper and adequate training for using the system.