Secure Coding mailing list archives

Re: enough OS flames


From: Crispin Cowan <crispin () immunix com>
Date: Fri, 06 Feb 2004 03:54:59 +0000


Louis Solomon [SteelBytes] wrote:


guys guys guys (and gals)

can we please stop the OS flame wars ?

the argument is almost pointless because mostly as developers, we are 
told what OS to develop for.
eg, I have to develop on/for windows, because that is where the target 
audience for my software is. 


Except it is not at all an OS flame, it is lessons in architecture.

   * The problem is Microsoft's legacy approach to architecture of
     running with excessive privilege and trusting user input, not
     their OS (which sucks for *different* reasons :)
   * The problem exists even where Microsoft applications run on other
     operation systems, e.g. Macintosh.
   * Microsoft has learned their lesson and is not architecting *new*
     systems this way any more, but they have a lot of legacy to live down.
   * *Developers* on this list need to learn these critical lessons if
     we are to avoid the mistakes of the past.

Crispin

--
Crispin Cowan, Ph.D.  http://immunix.com/~crispin/
CTO, Immunix          http://immunix.com
Immunix 7.3           http://www.immunix.com/shop/









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