Linux Kernel Developer job

[Ed Skinner]

On Thursday 13 May 2004 16:07, Alan Dayley wrote:
> I just posted a submission to the PLUG web site.  Someone is looking for a
> Linux Kernel developer.  Looks interesting.
>
> http://plug.phoenix.az.us/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid
>=128&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0
>
> Alan


      No doubt this will almost certainly start a religous war but I have to 
take a stand on this.
      As some of you know, I ran the Customer Education department at 
MontaVista Software for three years and developed most of the courses 
currently advertised there (at http://www.mvista.com/). During that time, I 
learned a great deal about Linux and, since I have a considerably longer 
background in embedded and real-time systems, I am aware of Linux's 
capabilities, and its limitations. With a deep understanding of embedded and 
real-time in general, and specifically in the details of Linux's operations, 
I would state in almost every class I taught for MontaVista, "If I ever get 
on an airplane and the pilot says that Linux will be controlling the flight 
surfaces, then I'm getting out of the plane. Linux is reliable, but not that 
reliable. If I'm going to bet my life on software, I want that software to be 
tested and verified to the very highest levels of reliability."
     Turning now to the posting and link above, the Land Warrior project is, 
in my opinion, a very, very bad one for Linux. Lives will be at stake and 
will depend, in part, on the reliability of the software. Linux is good, and 
it's far, far better than Windows, but neither of those operating systems are 
appropriate in "life relies on software" settings. Please note that my issues 
of reliability go far beyond the immediate implementation of Linux. When 
contemplating high-reliability systems, particularly those in the defense 
sector, I have a huge number of problems with how Linux is maintained, 
developed, and tested.
     To be up-front with this group, I now work for Green Hills software. You 
may be familiar with the recent white papers from that company in this and 
related regards. Although I have not personally had a hand in their 
preparation or content, I agree with these papers wholeheartedly, not because 
of my association with Green Hills but, and as you can see from my statements 
while working for a Linux-advocating company, because I have read the source, 
I have worked extensively with Linux, and know what it is, and is not, 
capable of doing, and how it is maintained and tested.
     I'm not one to tell someone else what they should or should not do but, 
in this case, I have a specific ethical problem with this position and with 
the associated project as a whole. Should you consider taking this position, 
I urge you not succumb to the argument that, if you don't take the job then 
they'll hire someone less qualified. Although that is undoubtedly true, it 
just makes matters worse. Instead, I would ask that you seriously consider 
whether or not you consider Linux, in its present and in its probable future 
incarnations with code submissions from around the world, to be appropriate 
or not, and to take a stand accordingly.
     Linux does not belong in systems where people's lives rely on it. (Nor do 
most other commercial operating systems, for that matter.)
     Okay, let the flack begin!

-- 
Ed Skinner, ed@flat5.net, http://www.flat5.net/