Killer Code

What we code and how we code can have serious consequences

It came without warning. Hundreds of megatons of thermonuclear warheads were unleashed to catastrophic consequences. In a flash, several world capitals became a molten heap of rubble. It was only through heroic efforts and brave decision making that the missile barrage was halted.

It had taken a few weeks after that fateful day till they found the flaw. A poorly constructed function, just a few lines of code, enabled a cascade of errors that triggered the early-warning system to register multiple false alarms…