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www/software reliability.html
|
From: |
Joakim Olsson |
|
Subject: |
www/software reliability.html |
|
Date: |
Tue, 03 Apr 2007 15:17:46 +0000 |
CVSROOT: /web/www
Module name: www
Changes by: Joakim Olsson <jocke> 07/04/03 15:17:46
Modified files:
software : reliability.html
Log message:
Templated.
CVSWeb URLs:
http://web.cvs.savannah.gnu.org/viewcvs/www/software/reliability.html?cvsroot=www&r1=1.9&r2=1.10
Patches:
Index: reliability.html
===================================================================
RCS file: /web/www/www/software/reliability.html,v
retrieving revision 1.9
retrieving revision 1.10
diff -u -b -r1.9 -r1.10
--- reliability.html 31 Mar 2007 15:31:27 -0000 1.9
+++ reliability.html 3 Apr 2007 15:17:41 -0000 1.10
@@ -1,191 +1,145 @@
-<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2 Final//EN">
-<HTML>
-<HEAD>
-<TITLE>Free Software is More Reliable! - GNU Project - Free Software
Foundation (FSF)</TITLE>
-<LINK REV="made" HREF="mailto:address@hidden";>
-</HEAD>
-<BODY BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#000000" LINK="#1F00FF" ALINK="#FF0000"
VLINK="#9900DD">
-<H3>Free Software is More Reliable!</H3>
-
-<A HREF="/graphics/agnuhead.html"><IMG SRC="/graphics/gnu-head-sm.jpg"
- ALT=" [image of the Head of a GNU] "
- WIDTH="129" HEIGHT="122"></A>
-
-[
- <A HREF="/software/reliability.ca.html">Catalan</A>
-| <A HREF="/software/reliability.zh-cn.html">Chinese(Simplified)</A>
-| <A HREF="/software/reliability.zh-tw.html">Chinese(Traditional)</A>
-| <A HREF="/software/reliability.html">English</A>
-| <A HREF="/software/reliability.fr.html">French</A>
-| <A HREF="/software/reliability.id.html">Indonesian</A>
-| <A HREF="/software/reliability.ja.html">Japanese</A>
-| <A HREF="/software/reliability.pl.html">Polish</A>
-| <A HREF="/software/reliability.pt.html">Portuguese</A>
-| <A HREF="/software/reliability.ru.html">Russian</A>
-| <A HREF="/software/reliability.es.html">Spanish</A>
-]
-<P>
-
-Apologists for
-<A HREF="/philosophy/categories.html#ProprietarySoftware">proprietary
-software</A>
-
-like to say, ``<A HREF="/philosophy/free-sw.html">free software</A> is a
-nice dream, but we all know that only the proprietary system can
-produce reliable products. A bunch of hackers just can't do this.''
-<P>
-
-Empirical evidence disagrees, however; scientific tests, described
-below, have found GNU software to be <em>more</em> reliable than
-comparable proprietary software.
-<P>
-
-This should not be a surprise; there are good reasons for the high
-reliability of GNU software, good reasons to expect free software
-will often (though not always) have high reliability.
-
-<HR>
-
-<P>
-
-<H4>Table of Contents</H4>
-
-<UL>
- <LI><A HREF="reliability.html#GNUUtilitiesSafer"
- NAME="TOCGNUUtilitiesSafer">GNU Utilities Safer!</A>
- <LI><A HREF="reliability.html#WhyReliable"
- NAME="TOCWhyReliable">Why Free Software is More Reliable</A>
- <LI><A HREF="reliability.html#CancerClinicReliesOnFreeSoftware"
- NAME="TOCCancerClinicReliesOnFreeSoftware">Cancer
- Clinic Relies on Free Software!</A>
- <LI><A HREF="reliability.html#Bulletproof"
- NAME="TOCBulletproof">Help Bulletproof GNU Utilities!</A>
-</UL>
-
-<P>
-
-<HR>
-
-<P>
-
-<H4><A HREF="reliability.html#TOCGNUUtilitiesSafer"
- NAME="GNUUtilitiesSafer">GNU Utilities Safer!</A></H4>
-
-Barton P. Miller and his colleagues tested the reliability of Unix
-utility programs in 1990 and 1995. Each time, GNU's utilities came
-out considerably ahead. They tested seven commercial Unix systems as
-well as GNU. By subjecting them to a random input stream, they could
-``crash (with core dump) or hang (infinite loop) over 40% (in the
-worst case) of the basic utility programs ...''
-<P>
-
-These researchers found that the commercial Unix systems had a failure
-rate that ranged from 15% to 43%. In contrast, the failure rate for
-GNU was only 7%.
-<P>
-
-Miller also said that, ``the three commercial systems that we compared
-in both 1990 and 1995 noticeably improved in reliability, but still
-had significant rates of failure (the basic utilities from GNU/Linux
-still were noticeably better than those of the commercial systems).''
-<P>
-
-For details, see their paper:
-
-<A
HREF="ftp://ftp.cs.wisc.edu/pub/paradyn/technical_papers/fuzz-revisited.ps";>Fuzz
-
-Revisited: A Re-examination of the Reliability of Unix Utilities and
-Services (postscript 146k)</A> by Barton P. Miller
-
-<A HREF="mailto:address@hidden";><address@hidden></A>, David
-Koski, Cjin Pheow Lee, Vivekananda Maganty, Ravi Murthy, Ajitkumar
-Natarajan, and Jeff Steidl.
-<P>
-
-<H4><A HREF="reliability.html#TOCWhyReliable"
- NAME="WhyReliable">Why Free Software is More Reliable</A></H4>
-
-It is no fluke that the GNU utilities are so reliable. There are good
-reasons why free software tends to be of high quality.
-
-<P>
-One reason is that free software gets the whole community involved in
-working together to fix problems. Users not only report bugs, they
-even fix bugs and send in fixes. Users work together, conversing by
-email, to get to the bottom of a problem and make the software
-work trouble-free.
-
-<P>
-Another is that developers really care about reliability. Free
-software packages do not always compete commercially, but they still
-compete for a good reputation, and a program which is unsatisfactory
-will not achieve the popularity that developers hope for. What's
-more, an author who makes the source code available for all to see
-puts his reputation on the line, and had better make the software
-clean and clear, on pain of the community's disapproval.
-<P>
-
-<H4><A HREF="reliability.html#TOCCancerClinicReliesOnFreeSoftware"
- NAME="CancerClinicReliesOnFreeSoftware">Cancer
- Clinic Relies on Free Software!</A></H4>
-
-The Roger Maris Cancer Center in Fargo, North Dakota (the same Fargo
-which was recently the scene of a movie and a flood) uses Linux-based
-GNU systems precisely because reliability is essential. A network of
-GNU/Linux machines runs the information system, coordinates drug
-therapies, and performs many other functions. This network needs to
-be available to the Center's staff at a moment's notice.
-<P>
-
-According to Dr. G.W. Wettstein
-
-<A HREF="mailto:address@hidden";><address@hidden></A>:
-
-<BLOCKQUOTE>
-``the proper care of our cancer patients would not be what it is today
-without [GNU/]Linux ... The tools that we have been able to deploy from free
-software channels have enabled us to write and develop innovative
-applications which ... do not exist through commercial avenues.''
-</BLOCKQUOTE>
-
-<P>
-
-<H4><A HREF="reliability.html#TOCBulletproof"
- NAME="Bulletproof">Bulletproof GNU Utilities!</A></H4>
-
-<A HREF="mailto:address@hidden";>Scott Maxwell</A> is leading an effort
-to eliminate "fuzz bugs" from GNU software, thus making them even more
-reliable. You can read about the project on <A
HREF="http://home.pacbell.net/s-max/scott/bulletproof-penguin.html";>http://home.pacbell.net/s-max/scott/bulletproof-penguin.html</A>.
-<P>
-
-<HR>
-
-Return to <A HREF="/home.html">GNU's home page</A>.
-<P>
-
-Please send FSF & GNU inquiries & questions to
-
-<A HREF="mailto:address@hidden";><EM>address@hidden</EM></A>.
-There are also <A HREF="/home.html#ContactInfo">other ways to
-contact</A> the FSF.
-<P>
-
-Please send comments on these web pages to
-
-<A HREF="mailto:address@hidden";><EM>address@hidden</EM></A>,
-send other questions to
-<A HREF="mailto:address@hidden";><EM>address@hidden</EM></A>.
-<P>
-Copyright (C) 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2007 Free Software Foundation,
Inc.,
-59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111, USA
-<P>
-Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is
-permitted in any medium, provided this notice is preserved.<P>
-Updated:
-<!-- timestamp start -->
-$Date: 2007/03/31 15:31:27 $ $Author: yavor $
-<!-- timestamp end -->
-<HR>
-</BODY>
-</HTML>
+<!--#include virtual="/server/header.html" -->
+ <title>Free Software is More Reliable! - GNU Project - Free
+ Software Foundation (FSF)</title>
+
+<!--#include virtual="/server/banner.html" -->
+
+<h2>Free Software is More Reliable!</h2>
+ <p>Apologists for <a href=
+ "/philosophy/categories.html#ProprietarySoftware">proprietary
+ software</a> like to say, ``<a href=
+ "/philosophy/free-sw.html">free software</a> is a nice dream, but
+ we all know that only the proprietary system can produce reliable
+ products. A bunch of hackers just can't do this.''</p>
+
+ <p>Empirical evidence disagrees, however; scientific tests,
+ described below, have found GNU software to be <em>more</em>
+ reliable than comparable proprietary software.</p>
+
+ <p>This should not be a surprise; there are good reasons for the
+ high reliability of GNU software, good reasons to expect free
+ software will often (though not always) have high
+ reliability.</p>
+ <hr />
+
+ <h4 id="GNUUtilitiesSafer">GNU Utilities
+ Safer!</h4>Barton P. Miller and his colleagues tested the
+ reliability of Unix utility programs in 1990 and 1995. Each time,
+ GNU's utilities came out considerably ahead. They tested seven
+ commercial Unix systems as well as GNU. By subjecting them to a
+ random input stream, they could ``crash (with core dump) or hang
+ (infinite loop) over 40% (in the worst case) of the basic utility
+ programs ...''
+
+ <p>These researchers found that the commercial Unix systems had a
+ failure rate that ranged from 15% to 43%. In contrast, the
+ failure rate for GNU was only 7%.</p>
+
+ <p>Miller also said that, ``the three commercial systems that we
+ compared in both 1990 and 1995 noticeably improved in
+ reliability, but still had significant rates of failure (the
+ basic utilities from GNU/Linux still were noticeably better than
+ those of the commercial systems).''</p>
+
+ <p>For details, see their paper: <a href=
+ "ftp://ftp.cs.wisc.edu/pub/paradyn/technical_papers/fuzz-revisited.ps";>
+ Fuzz Revisited: A Re-examination of the Reliability of Unix
+ Utilities and Services (postscript 146k)</a> by Barton P. Miller
+ <a href="mailto:address@hidden";><address@hidden></a>,
+ David Koski, Cjin Pheow Lee, Vivekananda Maganty, Ravi Murthy,
+ Ajitkumar Natarajan, and Jeff Steidl.</p>
+
+ <h4 id="WhyReliable">Why Free Software is More Reliable</h4>It is
+ no fluke that the GNU utilities are so reliable. There are good
+ reasons why free software tends to be of high quality.
+
+ <p>One reason is that free software gets the whole community
+ involved in working together to fix problems. Users not only
+ report bugs, they even fix bugs and send in fixes. Users work
+ together, conversing by email, to get to the bottom of a problem
+ and make the software work trouble-free.</p>
+
+ <p>Another is that developers really care about reliability. Free
+ software packages do not always compete commercially, but they
+ still compete for a good reputation, and a program which is
+ unsatisfactory will not achieve the popularity that developers
+ hope for. What's more, an author who makes the source code
+ available for all to see puts his reputation on the line, and had
+ better make the software clean and clear, on pain of the
+ community's disapproval.</p>
+
+ <h4 id="CancerClinicReliesOnFreeSoftware">Cancer Clinic Relies on Free
+ Software!</h4>The Roger Maris Cancer Center in Fargo, North
+ Dakota (the same Fargo which was recently the scene of a movie
+ and a flood) uses Linux-based GNU systems precisely because
+ reliability is essential. A network of GNU/Linux machines runs
+ the information system, coordinates drug therapies, and performs
+ many other functions. This network needs to be available to the
+ Center's staff at a moment's notice.
+
+ <p>According to Dr. G.W. Wettstein <a href=
+ "mailto:address@hidden";><address@hidden></a>:</p>
+
+ <blockquote>
+ ``the proper care of our cancer patients would not be what it
+ is today without [GNU/]Linux ... The tools that we have been
+ able to deploy from free software channels have enabled us to
+ write and develop innovative applications which ... do not
+ exist through commercial avenues.''
+ </blockquote>
+
+ <h4 id="Bulletproof">Bulletproof GNU Utilities!</h4><a href=
+ "mailto:address@hidden";>Scott Maxwell</a> is leading an effort
+ to eliminate "fuzz bugs" from GNU software, thus making them even
+ more reliable. You can read about the project on <a href=
+
"http://home.pacbell.net/s-max/scott/bulletproof-penguin.html";>http://home.pacbell.net/s-max/scott/bulletproof-penguin.html</a>.
+</div>
+
+<!--#include virtual="/server/footer.html" -->
+
+<div id="footer">
+<p>
+Please inquire about <acronym title="GNU's Not Unix!">GNU</acronym> by
+Email: <a href="mailto:address@hidden";>address@hidden</a>,
+Voice: +1-617-542-5942, or Fax: +1-617-542-2652.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Please send broken links and other web page suggestions to
+<a href="/people/webmeisters.html">The <acronym title="GNU's Not
Unix!">GNU</acronym> Webmasters</a> at
+<a href="mailto:address@hidden";>address@hidden</a>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Copyright © 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003,
+2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
+<a href="http://www.fsf.org";>Free Software Foundation</a>, Inc.,
+51 Franklin St - Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA
+<br />
+Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article are
+permitted worldwide, without royalty, in any medium, provided
+this notice, and the copyright notice, are preserved.
+</p>
+<p>Updated: <!-- timestamp start -->
+$Date: 2007/04/03 15:17:41 $
+<!-- timestamp end --></p>
+</div>
+<div id="translations">
+<h4>Translations of this page</h4>
+<ul class="translations-list">
+ <li><a href="/software/reliability.ca.html">Catalan</a></li>
+ <li>"/software/reliability.zh-cn.html">Chinese(Simplified)</a></li>
+ <li>"/software/reliability.zh-tw.html">Chinese(Traditional)</a></li>
+ <li><a href="/software/reliability.html">English</a></li>
+ <li><a href="/software/reliability.id.html">Indonesian</a></li>
+ <li><a href="/software/reliability.ja.html">Japanese</a></li>
+ <li><a href="/software/reliability.pl.html">Polish</a></li>
+ <li><a href="/software/reliability.pt.html">Portuguese</a></li>
+ <li><a href="/software/reliability.ru.html">Russian</a></li>
+ <li><a href="/software/reliability.es.html">Spanish</a></li>
+</ul>
+</div>
+</div>
+</body>
+</html>
- www/software reliability.html,
Joakim Olsson <=