Layer Intromission

I'm using JTOpen JDBC driver to access AS/400 via DB2.
It works pretty well, but unfortunately it tries to be more than it should be, a JDBC driver that allows a Java application to access a DB2 database.

It interacts with the AS/400 system in a way it should not. For instance, when it's time to change the password, the driver pops-up a notification window stating that it's time to change the password and asks the user if he wishes to do it now.
If this feature seems nice, let me tell you that it is totally wrong!
First, it is a JDBC driver, not an AS/400 system administration application.
Second, this kind of promiscuity among layers has disastrous results.

When one uses a JDBC driver one expects that it operates with the database and nothing else.
When JTOpen starts getting "smart" by interacting with the system, awkward things happen.
For instance, an entire critical system can fail because the driver hang on a "password will expire soon, do you wish to change it now" message and waits for user action instead of doing what it is suppose to do: database work.
Please not that this is not a "password expired" message but a "you must change your password within x days, do you wish to do it now" question.

Here is a real example of such problem: I executed a command line batch which was hold by the JTOpen driver "would you like to change your password now" question.

JTOpen "Would you like to change your password now" User Dialog Box Question.

I got lucky because the command was issued by me, but what if it was issued by a scheduler on a Saturday morning? It would only be noticed Monday morning and a critical job would not have been performed because the JDBC driver messed up.

./M6

Windows on critical systems? Thanks, but no thanks.

By reading this post topic I bet you're thinking "Gees, one more Windows hater moron"...
Well, not quite.
I use Windows, Linux, Unix and, sometimes, even Mac. So give me some credit before calling me bad names, ok? :)

There's a desktop market dominant operating system (OS), it's Windows and that is a fact over a decade now.
If anyone had such an OS, and once the desktop market has been dominated, it is clear that the next step is taking control of other devices, like mobile devices. There's nothing wrong with that, since the mobile devices have OSs and GUIs that are designed for personal usage, so having a personal desktop like Windows running on them makes perfect sense.

So, there's Windows, an OS that has been designed for desktop computers and is meant to be used by people that know nothing about computers. Nevertheless, any Windows user is perfectly capable to use it and use it's applications, either games, office suites or web browser.

There has been some usages that proved to be "less intelligent", more or less harmful, like the BMW iDrive (that many users says it sucks, and it really sucks).

And there has been usages that have proven to be totally idiot, careless and even incompetent.
For does that are now thinking I'm being "unfair", I'll prove all I'm saying.

Imagine that someone thinks that it is a good idea to use an OS that, again, has been designed for desktop usage, and stuff it into critical systems, like, for instance, medical-device equipment used on an hospital.
For those that are not scared, think Automatic Updates rebooting after, silently, downloading and installing an update.
For those that still are not scared, think virus and worms.
Mix all that and here's what you got: a critical system that is vulnerable to virus and worms and that will reboot anytime it wishes.

If you're not scared yet, think of yourself lying on an operation table connected to a medical-device equipment running Windows, and its automatic update client has just download and installed the latest security patches. You know what comes next, don't you?...

Now, I bet you're thinking all that is necessary is to turn the automatic updates off.

Ok then, think of yourself lying on an operation table connected to a medical-device equipment running Windows that is infected with a virus or a worm because it does not have the latest security patches since the automatic updates are off. You know what comes next, don't you?...

For those that are skeptical about such scenario, I have really bad news for you: it has already happened at Sheffield hospitals.
This is not new and it's actually a trend for some years now.

Scared now?...

If this isn't an idiot, careless and incompetent usage of Windows, then I don't know what it is...
Windows on critical systems? Thanks, but no thanks.

./M6