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=-1.3 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,INVALID_MSGID autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,b50bc6538a649497 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public From: Marin David Condic Subject: Re: if statements Date: 2000/11/09 Message-ID: <3A0ABE18.24CACAFB@acm.org>#1/1 X-Deja-AN: 691639128 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit References: <3A02CED4.520C2768@brighton.ac.uk> <3A078B6F.D34B024B@erols.com> <8ua3m1$bru$1@nnrp1.deja.com> <3A09A39F.2822C01B@cepsz.unizar.es> <8udce8$1qi$1@nnrp1.deja.com> X-Accept-Language: en X-Server-Date: 9 Nov 2000 15:09:33 GMT Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Organization: Quadrus Corporation Mime-Version: 1.0 Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Date: 2000-11-09T15:09:33+00:00 List-Id: Robert Dewar wrote: > If there is one thing in the Ada world that one expects it is > to get away from th idea that the MOST important thing about > code is that "it WORKS". Ada is about building reliable, > maintainable software, and the fact that it works is necessary > but no where *near* sufficient. I'd agree with the "Necessary/Not-Sufficient" part of this statement, but to say that "It Works" is not the MOST important thing, I think is a mistake. There are a lot of important qualities I excpect from my pick-up truck. If I go out front, stick the key in it and it doesn't start, then there isn't much point in having it take up all that space in my driveway that could be occupied by nice, useful, air. "Works" is the only excuse for having bothered to build it at all. Along the way, we probably add things like "Looks Sharp", "Safe To Operate", "More Power (argh! argh! argh!)" "Hold A Ton Of Bricks" as other valuable and important requirements, but take away any of those things and having the truck might still be justifiable. I've seen lots of *REAL CRAP* software that had the quality of "Works" and found it could still be profitable to use it. I've picked up unbelievably (well, maybe believably) bad C code that reliably performed some function and incorporated it into a product with the eye towards freezing it there, never to be touched again - under penalty of law. Should the programmer be spanked? Yup. Real hard and real often. "Bad Programmer! No Cookie!" But the quality of "Works" was still there. MDC -- ====================================================================== Marin David Condic - Quadrus Corporation - http://www.quadruscorp.com/ Send Replies To: m c o n d i c @ q u a d r u s c o r p . c o m Visit my web site at: http://www.mcondic.com/ "Giving money and power to Government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys." -- P. J. O'Rourke ======================================================================