Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 7/1/84; site wuphys.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!seismo!lll-crg!dual!qantel!ihnp4!mgnetp!we53!busch!wucs!wuphys!ljt From: ljt@wuphys.UUCP (Lewis J.Thomas III) Newsgroups: net.jokes Subject: Re: Request for computer science bloope Message-ID: <353@wuphys.UUCP> Date: Fri, 9-Aug-85 15:09:26 EDT Article-I.D.: wuphys.353 Posted: Fri Aug 9 15:09:26 1985 Date-Received: Tue, 13-Aug-85 01:31:08 EDT References: <115@uw-june> <53100120@trsvax> Reply-To: ljt@wuphys.UUCP (Lewis J.Thomas III) Organization: Physics Dept., Washington Univ. in St. Louis Lines: 30 In article <53100120@trsvax> wkb@trsvax writes: > >> I've been telling my 211 class some of the classic computer science bugs -- >> like the one about the typo in the FORTRAN DO loop that crashed a Venus >> probe, or the one about the payroll programmer who shaved the roundoff from >> salaries into his own account. If any of you know any more classic, or >> even any non-classic clever hacks or major stupidities involving computers >> please tell me. They liven up otherwise dreary lectures. >> >> Michael wkb replies: some stuff edited out here > After FORTRAN (short for FORmula TRANslation) became popular, the University >of Waterloo decided to write their own version, calling it "WATFOR" presumably >meaning "WATerloo FORmula translation". When they came out with a revision of >the compiler, it was naturally called WATFIV. more stuff edited out here WATFIV really does stand for something sensible (I have forgotten what), it is not just the next version of WATFOR. If anyone out in netland has a WATFIV manual, the history of the name is given there. -- "What we have here is a failure to communicate" ihnp4!wuphys!ljt