Hacker News Reader

The only way to know if software does what is intended is to use it. IMO that's the real value of OSS: software that has been executed many times by many people in many different environments, which overall increases the trust in the correctness of the system(s).

View on HN

> The only way to know if software does what is intended is to use it.

No, testing and code audits also work.

No amount of use of the software will tell you what else the software does beside what is intended (exfiltrate data, etc); testing and code audits both help with that.

Testing is not a replacement for use, but it can help exercise code to the extent that the author can predict how the software will be used. A significant source of test cases come from using code and finding defects. No amount of auditing or proactive testing replace real world use.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com