HACKER Q&A
📣 owenpalmer

What are the most complicated types of programs?


Seems like operating systems, compilers, and game engines are up there. What else is a contender in terms of complexity?


  👤 azhenley Accepted Answer ✓
Your list is generally what I think of first.

I once inspected a small subset of the software for a real-time system that regulated industrial machinery in a large factory. That stuff was intimidating. I can only imagine the complexity of seemingly simple gadgets that human lives depend on (e.g., power plants, avionics, medical equipment).


👤 leed25d
I could present evidence that FizzBuzz is too complex for some of the applicants that I have talked to over the last few years.

👤 dekhn
Multi-country support for corporate tax and employment.

👤 timwaagh
Web browsers would be up there.