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Ask HN: Examples of software that is “done”?

3 points by Retr0id ↗ HN
We all dream of writing software that is 100% feature complete, has no outstanding bugs, and requires no ongoing maintenance.

What are the best examples of such software? Preferably, software that is still in active use.

12 comments

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ftxbro
tex and metafont will be set to versions pi and e respectively when knuth dies, and those will be their final versions
1970-01-01
You're thinking at the high-level of software. Think about firmware and low-level software. That code needs to be those things because of the extremely expensive costs to issue recalls for fixing software bugs or getting feature updates into them. Examples include firmware in almost any appliance, toy, power tool, FM radio, cheap camera, etc.
Retr0id
Do you have any specific examples of devices with bug-free firmwares that I can inspect?
1970-01-01
https://youtu.be/nruUuDalNR0
Retr0id
I'm very familiar with firmware extraction, I'm a security researcher who also dabbles in hardware. I've never seen a bug-free one, though. I'm looking for specific examples of software that is feature-complete and bug-free.
1970-01-01
So the Casio F-91W is a great example. It's been in-use for decades. Does 4 things perfectly: Time, date, alarm, stopwatch.
pestatije
Win 7 and all the previous ones...obsoleted software can still be used