Re: The actual quote from the Post AAS article

[pole@evb.com (Tom Pole)]

In article <1993Mar13.000402.8785@seas.gwu.edu> mfeldman@seas.gwu.edu (Michael Feldman) writes:
>In article <1993Mar12.161548.6286@evb.com> pole@evb.com (Tom Pole) writes:
>
>[stuff deleted]
>>
>>The point is that these problems were known to be the major culprits
>>in the "software crises" and Ada was supposed to solve them.
>>
>Ada was to provide a _common language_ for the systems in its problem
>domain. In 1973 or thereabouts, there were anywhere from 200-1000
>different languages in use around DoD (I guess nobody knew for sure).
>A common language is surely one useful component of a solution to the
>"software crisis". Only one. Anyone who said or thought Ada, by itself, would
>solve anything but the language Babel, was either a fool or a liar. There
>was a lot of Ada hype in the early days; my impression at the time was that
>much of the hype was produced by the "training terrorists" of the day.

I really like "training terrorists" !
Great term.
Of course I don't know of anyone who fits that description. No really !!

>
>I know of _nobody_ with enough education and honesty to distinguish
>between a programming language and methodologies, management smarts,
>contracting smarts, etc., who promised that Ada would be a panacea.
>

Honesty is the operant attribute. I agree completely. Either the
person was less than honest, or naively believed someone who was.

>Surely nobody believes that of _any_ mere programming language nowadays...

Except for most of the 'beginner' engineers you meet who have 
a favorite language. Any favorite language.

>
>Mike Feldman


-- 

Thomas Pole