[sylens]

I think many of us are so used to working with software, with its constant need for adaptation and modification in order to meet an ever growing list of integration requirements, that we forget the benefits of working with a finalized spec with known constants like melting points, air pressure, and gravity.

[abid786]

Completely agree - I think it can go one of two ways. Software is more malleable than airplanes are and that also comes with downsides (like how much time and effort it takes to bring a new plane to the market)

[RajT88]

I was just thinking of this metaphor today.

Try drawing the software monstrosity you work on / with as an airplane. 100 wings sticking out all different directions, covered with instruments and fins, totally asymmetrical and 5 miles long. Propellers, jets, balloons, helicopter blades.

Yep, it flies.

When it crashes, just take off again.

[twothamendment]

So software is my son's Bad Piggies flying monstrosity! You only left out the crates of TNT.

[otherme123]

The article talks about a piece of software that partially failed, when they needed to calculate the braking distance for the overweight aircraft.

[WalterBright]

Airliners face constantly changing specifications. No two airliners are built the same.

[spenczar5]

Do you mean no two individual planes? Like two 767s made a month apart, do you mean they literally would have different requirements?

[WalterBright]

Yes. There are constant changes to the design to improve reliability, performance, and fix problems, and the airlines change their requirements constantly.

[numpad0]

Neat little detail of the world Wikipedia once told me: the 00 suffix of classic Boeing planes, dropped in 2016, was substituted with Boeing assigned customer code on registration documents. e.g. a PAN AM 773-300 would have been 777-321, an Air Berlin Jetfoil would have been 929-16J, and so on.

1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Boeing_customer_codes

[ponector]

I think they means that airplanes are made in different versions, catered to particular airline. Also planes are constantly updated.

Two 767 made few months apart will have initial difference, like two different versions of java 8 SDK.

[MBCook]

I think they meant a 737-400 is different from a 737-500 is different from a 787 and a AirBus 320 and a MD-80 and…

Every single model is somewhat bespoke. There’s common components but each ends up having its own special problems in a way I assume different car models in a common platform (or two small SUVs from competing manufacturers) just don’t.