Post #1506691

2025-10-25 12:31 UTC

@noboilerplate Ah yes, the system is bad both for the person having to work in it and the correctness/robustness of the result. At work we have the issue that many people write software, but don't understand that they do ""We only do automations"), which in turn often leads to problems later (things becoming unmaintainable within months). I'm looking for ways to increase the understanding of which things are programming and why some practices are useful in these cases.

Replies (2)

@noboilerplate@namtao.com 2025-10-25 12:31

@don nice!

Open ##1506692
@arclight@oldbytes.space 2025-10-25 13:40

@don @noboilerplate Excel is used for nuclear reactor design. Excel spreadsheets are software. It's an open question when a spreadsheet can be considered exempt from software quality assurance requirements. I have seen spreadsheets that contain named cells (varisnles), lambdas, tests, and documentation, about as close to software engineering as possible with Excel. It takes extreme discipline and an extensive knowledge of Excel and I know a total of 1 person who can do it. You can tell engineers about the risk of Excel, make them go through the suffering and pain of spreadsheet V&V, cajole them, threaten them, and they will _still_ keep using the tool for safety related work. These are not stupid people, they know better, but it's a tool they know and that works and is installed by default on every work laptop. You can't fault them for doing work with the tools provided. You can't eradicate Excel so you have to do harm reduction. Maybe better education on software quality assurance or Excel-spevific risks would motivate change. Given schedules are what they are, I doubt it. We desperately need better tools than the average Office suite. We need an Excel that can be effectively reviewed and assured and supports good software engineering practices. We will never get one because there's no incentive for anyone to make a better, safer Excel. PS: "Just use Python" is not a viable option for obvious reasons.

Open ##1506693