Re: [xsl] Is there an XSLT/XPath processor good enough to use in life-critical applications?

["Steven D. Majewski steve.majewski@xxxxxxxxx" <xsl-list-service@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I think the odds of getting an incorrect answer from a mature XPATH/XSLT
processor is very tiny b especially compared to the odds of programming it
incorrectly and getting the requested XPATHs wrong. However, having once
worked on fault tolerant systems, I can say that the only way to engineer
fault tolerance is thru redundancy (*) .
So if itbs really important, I would suggest you use two completely
different implementations and compare the results.  However, that still
doesnbt address misprogramming both processors, which is the more likely
source of error.



(*) I usually phrase that as bredundancy, redundancy, redundancyb ,
referring to the three types of redundancy.

b Steve Majewski




> On Nov 15, 2019, at 4:22 PM, Michael Kay mike@xxxxxxxxxxxx
<xsl-list-service@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>
>>
>> Are you using XSLT/XPath in a life-critical application such as controlling
a nuclear power plant or controlling an aircraft flight system?
>>
>
> Another observation on this: those are the classic examples of
safety-critical systems that everyone uses. But boring administrative systems,
like one that sends letters to patients telling them when their next cervical
smear test is due, are also safety-critical. Probably more deaths are caused
by failures in that kind of system than by failures in systems where the
consequences of failure are more immediate.
>
> WHO report 2016: "A study of reported errors from five family practices in a
high-income country found that most reports contained administrative errors
and more than three-quarters had the potential of serious harm".
>
> So let's change the question: Are you using XSLT/XPath in a life-critical
application such as sending appointment letters to hospital patients?
>
> Michael Kay
> Saxonica
>
>
> XSL-List info and archive <http://www.mulberrytech.com/xsl/xsl-list>
> EasyUnsubscribe <http://lists.mulberrytech.com/unsub/xsl-list/504751> (by
email <>)