Daniel;

I must admit my use of the word "good" does not mean GREAT!!! Anyway, I know what you mean as I have had to write mission critical software as well as firmware.

Total quality in software is not possible. Some requirements for software quality demand more time and money to produce the required results. In the case of software vendors they very often realize that it is time to ship product or go out of business. In other cases quality is THE requirement and that takes a great deal of effort but it sure feels better at the end of the day to say "We did a great job"!

The type of work we do with the windows platform and database application development is often dependent upon things beyond our control as developers. That is why we have learned to jump through hoops and place bandages where required. I guess this is all a part of the joy of being a software developer.

Tom