How Safe Do Programming Languages Need To Be?

Kenneth Louden, San Jose State University, San Jose, CA

Stevenson Hall 1300
11:00 AM - 11:50 AM

Throughout the history of programming language design there has been friction between the "freedom" and "discipline" camps: some prefer fewer programming rules, others want language-enforced compliance. In this talk, I will examine the notion of safety (or lack thereof) in programming languages and its relation to programming effort. I will also review some famous software disasters that indicate that "safe" languages rarely are as safe in practice as they are supposed to be. Indeed, the enforcement view appears to be waning, as perhaps it should. What should take its place? The answer should be obvious, with obvious but largely ignored consequences for computer science education.