* Re: Looking for ADA (2)
[not found] <md5:8FE89FDAAE069DE467C538C200E9D8F9>
@ 1997-03-25 0:00 ` Chris Sparks (Mr. Ada)
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From: Chris Sparks (Mr. Ada) @ 1997-03-25 0:00 UTC (permalink / raw)
Rick Thorne wrote:
> As a college student, why are you bothering with Ada anyway? My
> recommendations:
Who are you to give this kind of advice to a college student? Most
colleges
are using Ada as entry level languages.
> 1) Learn C, C++, Java, and other language technologies that actually have
> a future in the US.
If all of your friends decide to jump off a cliff will you? I guess
sooooooooooooooo.
> 2) Don't sweat Ada unless you get a job in a US DoD contractor's shop or a
> job in Europe, then let THEM pay you to work while you learn the language.
I would like to see a company that is a "C"/"C++" house give an Ada
programmer
a chance to learn that language. It seems that the Ada community is
more
forgiving to those who don't know Ada. I know since I get end up
mentoring
a lot of people without Ada experience.
> 3) Keep your C, C++, & Java skills sharp whilst you work with Ada, because
> Ada's going away quickly, yes, even in the DoD world because of the Perry
> Initiative and the soon-to-happen elimination of the Ada Requirements
> (probably by july '97).
I would think keeping up one Ada skills will take a person a long way.
It
is my experience that a lot of C/C++ programmers are sloppy and
unorganized.
A true Ada programmer, with years of experience, is just as or more
efficient
than any C programmer I have ever seen. Ada forces a person to have a
persnickety, for lack of a better word, mind set when it comes to
programming.
> 4) Learn OOA/D methods; these are the elements of the Software Crisis
> unsolved by Ada. As Brooks stated in "No Silver Bullet": Ada is just a
> programming language. It doesn't cover all the ground by any means.
Which language does? I find that people who poo-poo Ada are lazy people
who would rather throw some spaghetti code together and call it software
engineering. Yuch!
> Good luck, and look to a future that HAS a future.
Your arrogance is appalling.
Chris Sparks
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