Jolt framework lets users force some hung programs to recover

A group of MIT researchers have developed an experimental software framework that can detect when a program has entered an infinite loop in some cases and give the user the option of forcing the loop to end. Ars explains how it works.

<a href='http://meincmagazine.com/science/news/2011/08/jolt-framework-lets-users-force-some-hung-programs-to-recover.ars'>Read the whole story</a>

 

[ronelson]

It has nothing to do with the level of programmer that uses this, it's universally insanely stupid. The point is that if you prematurely break out of a loop, you can no longer make ANY valid assumption about the state of your program. Usually the point of a loop is that when you exit it -- when you want to, that is -- you have accomplished something useful.

And when your program exits the loop through normal function, you should STILL be checking to ensure the loop did what it said it did. This does not change that. All it does is let the program get to its next validation test instead of never making it there.