Editor's corner: A report from the best and brightest
Those were some of the opening shots of the powerfully worded report of the “Defense Science Board Task Force on Military Software” that was released a couple of years ago. The task force, chaired by noted computer scientist Frederick P. Brooks, Jr., attacked some of the ongoing problems of software head on. Should the average software person care about a report produced to deal with the problems of military software? Given that the report now has had more than two years of aging, is it still up to date in its viewpoint? Considering the breadth, depth, and timeliness of this report, my answer is a resounding “yes.” A lot of software dragons are met and slain here; a lot of others are put in proper perspective. And the people who prepared the report are probably the best and brightest in the business.