Re: Eiffel anyone? - Who uses it?

[Joachim Durchholz <joachim.durchholz@munich.netsurf.de>]

Thaddeus L. Olczyk wrote:
> On the other hand he is right in the following sense: Eiffel is one of
> the
> most
> overhyped languages around.

It's difficult to overhype a language that *is* good.
It is not perfect, but it has some very unique features. I know of no
other language that can serve both for formalizing analysis and for
actual programming, which I thought impossible not too many years ago.

It is not the language that's overhyped. It is the IDEs, which are
generally years behind the mainstream (but catching up).

> Every introduction either is written by
> Meyer
> or one of his disciples.

So what?

> IMHO Meyer has been driven mad by the fact
> the
> Eiffel has been
> beaten out by C++.

Well, personal attacks always raise my suspicion that the arguments for
the issue are getting thin...

> ... or
> join
> the cult and
> become virtually umemployable by anyone who does not use Eiffel for
> development.

Well, I'm currently looking for a new job, so I might contribute my
personal experiences here (which are limited to Germany, but most of it
should apply to the U.S. in a general way).

My interview partners usually became interested when I told them that I
know more of C++ than just the syntax and semantics. They must have been
swamped with programmers who use C++ just as a better C. Even more
surprising, many knew that Eiffel exists.
Of course you cannot go into a shop and tell them that C++ is scrap,
especially if they are using the language in everyday use. But many
readily agreed that C++ is a transition technology.

Of course there are shops that say "we're doing Visual C++ with MFC,
that's enough OO for us". These shops are those that code business logic
directly into the GUI layer (because MFC doesn't allow easy separation
of layers, and the next deadline is always too near for getting things
polished). And these are the shops that will fire their coders soon
enough - they'll need analysts, because coding will be less of an issue.

Yes, programmers have already begun to make themselves more superfluous.
It hasn't been publicly noticed yet, because the total workload has
increased by the same amount. But those who are mentally underequipped
or just undereducated have already begun to feel the pressure. I expect
COBOL coders to experience serious troubles at about year 2003, when the
Y2K issues are settled. Those who are smart enough can go into analysis,
and those who are educated enough can go into the challenging coding
jobs (where algorithms are written, not just executed), but the vast
majority who know how to make 24x80 forms on a 3270 terminal and issue
SQL statements will be out in the cold.

Regards,
Joachim
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