What I was referring to was a free project {the GCC compiler} that is managed rationally. They have a database to track errors and manage the correction of the errors. Workers remove defects while improving the project's functionality at the same time.bob wrote: ↑Wed Feb 19, 2020 9:59 pm I don't follow the above. What is the "it" in "it can be done?" The implication is you are talking about the compiler, but I suspect I am wrong. And again, detecting and fixing bugs is only a part of the problem that can be solved. The rest of the problem is "detecting the REST of the bugs that testing doesn't expose."
Even though you will never remove all the bugs from a very large process, that does not mean that you should not attempt to remove the well known errors that are potentially harmful and that are easy to fix.
It is possible to write perfect code through program proving. But it is so expensive that nobody does it (that I know of).