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=-1.9 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00 autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,447bd1cf7a88c198 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2001-01-01 13:44:36 PST Path: supernews.google.com!sn-xit-02!supernews.com!news.infoave.net!skynet.be!portc03.blue.aol.com!news-out.usenetserver.com!newsfeed2.earthlink.net!newsfeed.earthlink.net!news.mindspring.net!not-for-mail From: Lao Xiao Hai Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Re: What to Do? Date: Mon, 01 Jan 2001 13:37:35 -0800 Organization: MindSpring Enterprises Message-ID: <3A50F89E.414673FE@ix.netcom.com> References: <3A4F5A4A.9ABA2C4F@chicagonet.net> <3A4F759E.A7D63F3F@netwood.net> <3A50ABDF.3A8F6C0D@acm.org> <92qdnn$jfg$1@news.huji.ac.il> NNTP-Posting-Host: 3f.35.b3.bb Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Server-Date: 1 Jan 2001 21:39:22 GMT X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.7 [en] (Win98; I) X-Accept-Language: en Xref: supernews.google.com comp.lang.ada:3527 Date: 2001-01-01T21:39:22+00:00 List-Id: Ehud Lamm wrote: > In fact, I think one problem Ada had (note past tense) was lack of amateurs. > As opposed to such "cool" languages like C++ and Java (and in the old day > Turbo Pascal), most hobbyist never hear of Ada, or hear misleading info (see > Jargon File). While visiting a friend who is a professor at a well-known university in the Western U.S., I asked him about Ada at their school. When I made my inquiry, we were touring their new computer lab facilities. His answer was that they had pretty much abandoned Ada in favor of more relevant languages. A nearby student overheard our conversation. "Ada? Oh that's GNAT. I have it downloaded on my machine and have been experimenting with it." My friend was as surprised as I. One of the good things that has happened is the free availability of GNAT along with its source code. There are actually students out there learning about compilers and languages by downloading GNAT and examining its implementation. Upon being introduced to the Department Chair that same day, I learned that he despised Ada. To his arteriosclerotic mind Ada was old, clunky, hard to understand, irrelevant, expensive, and just not worth the time. Psychologists call this kind of observation, "projection." I am sure many students felt the same way about him. We can be thankful for the uncongealed minds of our students. Richard Riehle