Everything about Defensive programming

🧭 Start here: a 6-step reading path

1. Read the overview: Defensive programmingA 5-minute orientation
2. Skim a recent paper: Improving defensive air battle management by solving a stochastic dynamic assignment problem via approximate dynamic programmingInfluential work since 2022
3. Pick up a classic book: NASA/DoD aerospace knowledge diffusion research projectThe most-reprinted book on the subject
4. Read the landmark paper: Maternal programming of defensive responses through sustained effects on gene expressionCited 112 times
5. Go sideways: Secure codingA closely related topic
6. Go sideways: Uncontrolled format stringA closely related topic

🏆 Landmark papers (most cited)

• Maternal programming of defensive responses through sustained effects on gene expression

  Tie-Yuan Zhang, Rose Bagot, Carine Parent · 2006 · Biological Psychology · 112 citations

• Maternal Programming of Individual Differences in Defensive Responses in the Rat

  TIE‐YUAN ZHANG, CARINE PARENT, IAN WEAVER · 2004 · Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 63 citations

• Defensive programming

  Xiaohu Qie, Ruoming Pang, Larry Peterson · 2002 · ACM SIGOPS Operating Systems Review · 23 citations

• checkmate: Fast Argument Checks for Defensive R Programming

  Michel Lang · 2017 · The R Journal · 21 citations

• Maternal programming of defensive responses through sustained effects on gene expression

  Josie Diorio, Michael J. Meaney · 2007 · Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience · 11 citations

• Defensive Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator Programming Is Safe and Reduces Inappropriate Therapy ― Comparison of 3 Programming Strategies in 1,471 Patients ―

  Achim Leo Burger, Stefan Stojkovic, Herwig Schmidinger · 2018 · Circulation Journal · 8 citations

• A Praise for Defensive Programming: Leveraging Uncertainty for Effective Malware Mitigation

  Ruimin Sun, Marcus Botacin, Nikolaos Sapountzis · 2022 · IEEE Transactions on Dependable and Secure Computing · 6 citations

• The implementation of generic smart pointers for advanced defensive programming

  Anthony Savidis · 2004 · Software: Practice and Experience · 5 citations

🆕 Influential since 2022

• Improving defensive air battle management by solving a stochastic dynamic assignment problem via approximate dynamic programming

  Joseph M. Liles, Matthew J. Robbins, Brian J. Lunday · 2023 · European Journal of Operational Research · 22 citations

• Linear Programming for Computing Equilibria Under Truncation Selection and Designing Defensive Strategies Against Malicious Opponents

  Zhuoer Zhang, Bryce Morsky · 2025 · Games · 0 citations

📚 Books worth reading

• NASA/DoD aerospace knowledge diffusion research projectThomas E. Pinelli · 1990
• 📕Financial ManagementUnited States. General Accounting Office · 1987
• 📕Information technologyUnited States. General Accounting Office · 1995
• 📕Future years defense programUnited States. General Accounting Office · 1994
• 📕Defense acquisitionUnited States. General Accounting Office · 1990
• 📕Ballistic missile defenseUnited States. General Accounting Office · 1993
• Program budgetingDavid Novick · 1962
• 📕DOD budgetUnited States. General Accounting Office · 1990

Ranked by number of editions on Open Library, a rough measure of how lasting a book is.

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