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Comment by rubyrescue | Hacker News Reader

what is the primary language for fighter jet software?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_Martin_F-35_Lightning...

quote:

Unlike previous aircraft, such as the F-22, all software for the F-35 is written in C++ for faster code development. The Integrity DO-178B real-time operating system (RTOS) from Green Hills Software runs on COTS Freescale PowerPC processors.[211] The final Block 3 software for the F-35 is planned to have 8.6 million lines of software code.[212] The scale of the program has led to a software crisis as officials continue to discover that additional software needs to be written.[213] General Norton Schwartz has said that the software is the biggest factor that might delay the USAF's initial operational capability which is now scheduled for April 2016.[214] Michael Gilmore, Director of Operational Test & Evaluation, has written that, "the F-35 mission systems software development and test is tending towards familiar historical patterns of extended development, discovery in flight test, and deferrals to later increments."[215]

I think they are doing the JSF in C++. Here are the coding standards. http://www2.research.att.com/~bs/JSF-AV-rules.pdf

Those standards are a pretty good read for anyone wanting to write good code in that language.

Or indeed, anyone who wants to write good code any language. I don't work with C++ but it's a clear and well structured guide to OO development in general.

Used to be Ada, which for all its flaws was a great DSL for it (type-safe, bounds-checked in the type system, etc). Wasn't popular tho' so now people use C and formally verify it in OCaml.

Woah. Is there any available material on how they're doing that/how it's working out?

It seems to be Java: “Software providing essential JSF capability has grown in size and complexity, and is taking longer to complete than expected,”

Just kidding. Don't stone me.

It's all relative. As hackers, you can't even imagine what its like to code for the govt (I used to work for navair). Even the most corporate java programmer would find the govt program ugly and overly-complex.

Oh, I've worked for the military sector, with those huge NATO specification books. Also with JSF, the Java thing that happens to share TLA, but in another job. Honestly, I'm not sure which one was worse.

Thank you for that.

Ada is the standard language for fighter jets.

Old and Arcane it is, but its the most functional...

Usually ADA

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