[int08h]

Hmm, it seems you actually agree with the OP:

OP says (your quote):

> [Most production incidents] are due to the code entering a state that should never have been possible.

You say:

> [...] it is more true that most production incidents are due to the system entering into one of thousands of unsafe states which were possible and latent in production potentially for years

I see you both agree that a broken system enters an "unsafe state" (your words) or a "state that should never have been possible" (OP's words).

"Unsafe state" and "state that should not have been possible" are, in practice in a real system, the same practical thing. I suspect you both would agree "system confuses a string for an integer and acts based on erroneous value" or "system acts on internal state that indicates the valve is both open and closed" would be states that a system should not be in. Outside pedantry, your descriptions are practically synonymous with each other.

[thundergolfer]

The crux is in the "never have been possible" bit. In complex systems, it is impossible to eliminate these potential states with functional programming or any other technique, unsafe states are always potentialities that must be actively controlled.

Another way of casting it is like this. The goal may be:

1. Eliminate possibility code can enter invalid state 2. Control parameters of the system so that it remains in a safe condition

Those are very different goals.

[int08h]

Right, I understand your meaning better.

I agree with you: no matter how good of a job the code (by construction or types or otherwise) does of “making unsafe states unrepresentable”, that in no way makes a real world complex system “safe” by itself.

Code can be structured so that valves may only be open OR closed, but nothing stops the real world from returning a sensor reading that says “the valve is <undefined>”. To remain a “safe” system, the system must deal with inconsistent states like “heisen-valves”.

[rastrian]

heisen-valves are a perfect comparison, thank you.