> Here's the thing. Those first two things don't exist.

You are 100% wrong on this. They exist all the time when I'm doing a hardware task.

I need to test a new chip coming off the fab. I need to get the pins in the right place, the test code up and running, the jig positioned correctly, the test vectors for JTAG generated, etc.

This ... is ... a ... pain ... in ... the ... ass.

It changes every single time for every single chip. It changes for every jig and every JTAG and every new test machine. Nobody gives one iota of damn about the code as it will be completely different for the next revision of this chip. Once I validate that the chip actually powers on and does something sane, the folks who handle the real testing will generate real vectors--but not before.

So, generating that go/no-go code is in the way of everything. And nobody cares about what it looks like because it is going to be thrown out immediately afterward.