Re: Ada The Best Language?

["Marc A. Criley" <mcqada@earthlink.net>]

codesavvy wrote:
> 
> "Marc A. Criley" <mcqada@earthlink.net> wrote in message news:<3B56D060.EF478F36@earthlink.net>...
> > codesavvy wrote:
> > >
> > > Questions regarding productiviy are bogus? Of course you ignore the
> > > other question that pertains to the point I'm trying to make.
> >
> > Of course I ignored the questions to which I was not responding, I
> > conscientiously chose to respond only to the..yes..bogus question you
> > asked:
> 
> I'm glad you're admitting that you are purposely distorting the intent
> of what I wrote.

What an odd way to interpret my response. :-)

> It's not a bogus question when you answer it in the context of my
> post.  Many other people understood but you didn't.  That's ok you
> don't have to.

Clarity of expression is the key to gaining information.  You'll recall
your original post:

"I don't care if you think I'm trolling, I'm not.  I think the answer
is rather obvious, Ada has nothing to offer that is substantially
better than what C++ offers.  I've read posts in this news group that
extoll Ada for it's many virtues but the truth of the matter is that
they are overrated if they exist at all.  Are there any statistics
that state that Ada leads to more reliable, maintainable, or robust
code than does C++?  What class(es) of programming problems does Ada
solve that C++ can't?"

You assert that:
- The following assertions are rather obvious...
- Ada has nothing to offer that is substantially better that what C++
offers.
- The truth of the matter is that [Ada's virtues] are overrated if they
exist at all.

You then asked for statistics showing that Ada leads to more reliable,
maintainable, or robust code than C++.  (And actually, nowhere in your
post is the term "productivity" used, the request for data is to support
Ada's claim to producing higher quality code, of which productivity
could be interpeted as being in the penumbra.)

That's a fair question; however, your first set of assertions poisoned
the well, establishing a hostile context.

Your final question is then ambiguous.  It could be _interpreted_ as
asking what you claim: "What class(es) of programming problems does Ada
solve _more productively than C++?_", but that's not what it says.

Posters in this group taking this tone while making such assertions and
demands typically have little experience with the industry segment where
Ada plays a significant role (or in industry as a whole).  This
perception is subsequently buttressed by your glaringly false assertions
that platform porting is very rarely done, and then continuing to
maintain that assertion.

You may not be a young inexperienced coder, but "if it walks like a
duck, and quacks like a duck..." :-)

Many such individuals do truly believe that there are problems that
their favorite programming language can solve that another, such as Ada,
can't.  (I've met them on numerous occasions.)  They need to be
disabused of that notion.

> So you make the final decision on what is appropriate and what is not.

Moi?  I think not.  I've been here a long time, seeking to share
knowledge, learn more, and aid the correction of the many fallacies that
continue to envelop Ada--this is just a continuation of that effort.

>  I don't think that you've been appointed to such a position.  As far
> as metrics vs. "hard-earned" experience (a nebulous concept at best) I

"Hard-earned" experience is a nebulous concept?  Okay, how about just
"experience".

Participants in this group have architected, designed, and written Ada
software for aircraft avionics (commercial and military), jet engines,
the space station, weapon control systems, flight simulators, high-speed
trains, robotics, missile flight controls, rocket engines, and for many
other realms.  I doubt any of us consider that experience "nebulous".

> believe that one of the problems with the software development
> community is that there is too much qualitative analysis and too
> little quantitative analysis.

Here I absolutely agree with you.  When I see individuals lobbying to
have a system that was implemented in Ada that came in on budget, on 
schedule--with excellent performance, reliability and maintainability
metrics that could be directly associated with the use of Ada language
features--discarded and be replaced with one coded in C++ because
"that's where the market is going" (literal quote!), there's something
very idiotic in this industry.

>  I haven't made any accusations that are
> glaringly false nor have I made any bogus assertions. 

Well, yes, you have, actually.

> As far as
> compiler platform ports, you offer little evidence to support your
> claim and thus it amounts to only an opinion that you have.

A different post rebuts this.

>  It seems
> that your main interest is in conducting a flame war.  I'm not
> interested though but thanks for playing.

I've made no personal attacks, disparaged no one's experience as "only
an opinion", have not intentionally misinterpreted or casually dismissed
another's statements, nor asserted another's motivations or agendas.  If
I'm participating in a flame war, it's purely in a reactive manner.

Marc A. Criley
Senior Staff Engineer
Quadrus Corporation
www.quadruscorp.com