Re: ada is getting spanked :(

["Harald Korneliussen" <vintermann@gmail.com>]

Leif Holmgren wrote:
> jtg wrote:
> > Leif Holmgren wrote:
> >
> >> Has anyone ever tried to measure the important programming language
> >> speed aspects? What I mean is
> >> - Time to implement a complex algo by an average programmer, including
> >> bug-fixing.
> >
> >
> > There is one natural environment for such tests: programming
> > competition. For example at topcoder (www.topcoder.com) you can see some
> > statistics (average coding time, best coding time, correct programs
> > percentage etc.) for several languages used in these competitions.
> > Unfortunately, the languages are only C++, C#, java and Visual Basic.
> >
>
> Without having looked I believe the problem is that such sites will only
> attract the really talented programmers. And a talented programmer can
> write fortran in any programming language.
>
> What's really interesting is the result from those coders that go home
> after their 8 hours in front of the terminal and dont spend five minutes
> thinking about software until they are back at work the next day.

Topcoder is a bit of a swindle, really. They have competitions to
design and implement various component, but even if you should win, the
hourly wage would be lousy. Topcoder programmers are either obsessed
about their reputation, or dirt-poor out of work eastern
europeans/asians. Sometimes both. The site is made for the sponsors,
not the participants, and it shows everywhere, not only in language
alternatives.