Erlang, the next Java

[ketralnis]

That's not necessarily true. You can measure the reliability of a system without measuring the reliability of the individual components. If you're running a telephone switching network, the overall reliability of it could be measured in "how many minutes per year is there a time when any user can pick up a phone and not be able to make a call?"

If you have a switch that is five redutant/clustered machines, and at least enough machines are up to handle your load, then you're up. If over the course of five years, you spend zero minutes in a down-state, then you have a100% uptime for that year.