Quotes by Wietse Venema - Page 1

Defect-free software does not exist.
Wietse Venema / Computer Scientist
Technology
Doe
Software
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Sure, but competition is good for the user.
Wietse Venema / Computer Scientist
Competition
Users
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Adding functionality is not just a matter of adding code.
Wietse Venema / Computer Scientist
Code
Functionality
Matter
Adding
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Lack of documentation is becoming a problem for acceptance.
Wietse Venema / Computer Scientist
Acceptance
Becoming
Documentation
Problem
Lack
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One bug in an SMTP server can open up the whole machine for intrusion.
Wietse Venema / Computer Scientist
Bugs
Intrusion
Machines
Server
Bug
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The Postfix security model is based on keeping software simple and stupid.
Wietse Venema / Computer Scientist
Simple
Software
Stupid
Model
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My reply is: the software has no known bugs, therefore it has not been updated.
Wietse Venema / Computer Scientist
Bugs
Known
Software
Reply
Therefore
Updated
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Like all software, Qmail can survive only when it keeps up with changing requirements.
Wietse Venema / Computer Scientist
Requirements
Software
Survive
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Windows favors multi-threading, which means that a service is implemented by one single process.
Wietse Venema / Computer Scientist
Favors
Mean
Window
Implemented
Windows
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For many people my software is something that you install and forget. I like to keep it that way.
Wietse Venema / Computer Scientist
Forget
People
Software
Way
Install
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Most of the effort in the software business goes into the maintenance of code that already exists.
Wietse Venema / Computer Scientist
Business
Code
Effort
Maintenance
Software
Exists
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Writing software that's safe even in the presence of bugs makes the challenge even more interesting.
Wietse Venema / Computer Scientist
Challenges
Interesting
Safe
Software
Writing
Presence
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As of today, the Postfix mail transport agent has almost 50,000 lines of code, comments not included.
Wietse Venema / Computer Scientist
Agents
Code
Lines
Mail
Transport
Agent
Comments
Included
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When I write software, I know that it will fail, either due to my own mistake, or due to some other cause.
Wietse Venema / Computer Scientist
Computers
Causes
Mistake
Software
Writing
Due
Fail
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Postfix keeps running even if one Postfix process dies; Windows requires that someone restarts the service.
Wietse Venema / Computer Scientist
Running
Process
Window
Requires
Windows
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The challenge with Postfix, or with any piece of software, is to update software without introducing problems.
Wietse Venema / Computer Scientist
Challenges
Introducing
Pieces
Software
Updates
Challenge
Piece
Update
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At the time the Sendmail program had a very poor reputation with respect to security, with four root vulnerabilities per year for two successive years.
Wietse Venema / Computer Scientist
Respect
Program
Reputation
Roots
Two
Years
Per
Root
Successive
Vulnerabilities
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This will surprise some of your readers, but my primary interest is not with computer security. I am primarily interested in writing software that works as intended.
Wietse Venema / Computer Scientist
Computer
Software
Surprise
Writing
Intended
Primarily
Readers
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Qmail out of the box works fine, so people will want to use it regardless of licensing restrictions, even when the software does not ship with their system software.
Wietse Venema / Computer Scientist
Doe
Licensing
People
Software
Use
Use People Will
Box
Regardless
Restrictions
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I was going to visit IBM for six months as a visiting scientist. Now, six months is a lot of time, so I came with a whole list of projects that I might want to work on.
Wietse Venema / Computer Scientist
Ibm
Might
Scientist
Six Months
Want
List
Visit
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I want to avoid locking people into solutions that work only with Postfix. People should have a choice in what software they want to use with Postfix, be it anti-virus or otherwise.
Wietse Venema / Computer Scientist
Choices
People
Should Have
Software
Work Use People
Anti-Virus
Avoid
Choice
Locking
Otherwise
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I don't expect an overnight change of all desktops to what the US Military used to call B3 level security. And even that would not stop users from shooting themselves into the foot.
Wietse Venema / Computer Scientist
Change
Smile
Feet
Military
Shooting
Us Military
Users
Foot
Overnight
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Coming back to the topic of computer security, the TCP Wrapper is an example of such a safety net. I wrote it when my systems were under attack by someone who appeared to walk through walls.
Wietse Venema / Computer Scientist
Computer
Example
Safety
Safety Net
Wall
Appeared
Attack
Net
Systems
Topic
Walls
Wrapper
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However, writing software without defects is not sufficient. In my experience, it is at least as difficult to write software that is safe - that is, software that behaves reasonably under adverse conditions.
Wietse Venema / Computer Scientist
Experience
Adverse
Conditions
Defects
Safe
Software
Sufficient
Writing
Adverse Conditions
Behaves
However
Reasonably
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In a previous life I wrote the software that controlled my physics experiments. That software had to deal with all kinds of possible failures in equipment. That is probably where I learned to rely on multiple safety nets inside and around my systems.
Wietse Venema / Computer Scientist
Equipment
Experiments
Kind
Multiple
Physics
Previous Life
Rely
Safety
Software
Inside
Deal
Nets
Previous
Safety Nets
Systems
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