
Bjarne Stroustrup, the inventor of the C++ programming language examines what's wrong with most software code. He explains, "Some software is actually pretty good by any standards. Think of the Mars Rovers, Google, and the Human Genome Project. That's quality software! Fifteen years ago, most people, and especially most experts, would have said each of those examples was impossible. On the other hand, looking at average pieces of code can make me cry. The structure is appalling, and the programmers clearly didn't think deeply about correctness, algorithms, data structures, or maintainability. Most people don't actually read code; they just see Internet Explorer or Windows freeze, have their cell phone drop a call, read the latest newspaper story about viruses, and they shudder". >>