Specs vs Implementations
The cluster debates the role, authority, bugs, and necessity of formal specifications compared to reference implementations in software development, particularly whether specs are infallible or superior to code.
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Tell that to Annex K... Getting something into the spec isn't enough.
Do you have docs that explain the spec so new implementations can be written without dissecting the code?
Specification are not immune to bugs.
Why? The spec ain't God given.
Yeah this seems like the specification/implementation problem. One can perfectly implement a bad spec, but coming up with the perfect spec is a human problem.
Maybe the code itself is less important now, relative to the specification.
Still blame the ones defining the spec rather than implementing it.
They have, but specs are a more authoritative standard than a reference implementation.
Specs are not meant to be read by average developer. Average developer should read books. Specs are meant to clarify moot points between different implementations. Spec is like legal document, they are hard to read, but they serve their purpose.
We were talking about the spec, not the implementation.