From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-0.8 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,INVALID_DATE autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!mips!apple!agate!stanford.edu!unix!CRVAX.Sri.Com!hlavaty From: hlavaty@CRVAX.Sri.Com Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Re: Free Optimizing Ada Compiler Message-ID: <24136@unix.SRI.COM> Date: 9 May 91 21:36:32 GMT Sender: news@unix.SRI.COM Distribution: comp.lang.ada Organization: SRI International List-Id: In article <1991May9.175544.11853@beaver.cs.washington.edu>, pattis@june.cs.washington.edu (Richard Pattis) writes... >In article <9105091625.AA11977@enuxha.eas.asu.edu> koehnema@enuxha.eas.asu.edu (Harry Koehnemann) writes: > >In fact, I will even go to the extreme here and say that it is often BETTER in >beginning classes to not have instantaneous compilation. When compilation is >TOO FAST, it can seduce students into repeatedly reusing the compiler in place >of actually thinking about what they are doing. I often see reasonably written >programs turned into garbage by students incrementally changing them without >thinking about what they are doing. I am not saying all beginning students >succumb to this temptation, but it is my experience that many do. > >Rich Pattis > I found this comment very interesting. This observation tends to support a software management technique advocated by Tom DeMarco and Tim Lister of the Atlantic Systems Guild. Their approach during a development is to *take away* compiler rights from the developer, thereby forcing a programmer to think through their code approach. When they think they are done, they give the code to someone else who compiles it and returns it if it fails. I believe this idea originated as a response to fault metrics compiled by T.C. Jones (Capers Jones?) showing that the more errors you find, the more errors their are. By removing compiler rights, the programmer is incentivized to reduce the number of errors right from the start. While this topic is really turning into software engineering, the fact that you have experience confirming this (even if they are students - habits are habits) was interesting. Most managers find the idea of removing compiler rights as something akin to insanity. Anyway, the point made by Mr Pattis with regards to reducing overall compiler usage is a good one, for it appears the Mr Pattis is not the only person to have picked up on this phenemenon of "compiler abusage". Jim Hlavaty hlavaty@crvax.sri.com