Re: Software Liability

["Marc A. Criley" <mcq95@earthlink.net>]

Wes Groleau wrote:
> 
> Depends on who you are.  I remember once
> shaking my head in disbelief while examining
> a _single_ Ada file that contained three _different_
> algorithms for removing leading and trailing blanks
> from a string.
> 
> When the person who wrote it said to someone else
> across the room, "Ada is an abomination" it was very
> difficult to not turn around and say, "It certainly
> is when you write it!"

As a result of a company reorg, the projects at a facility that was
closing were relocated and I was in the group that inherited one of them
as it completed its final development phase and went into initial system
test.  (Note also that virtually none of the original developers
relocated with the system.)

The system had severe functional problems and so the corporate systems
gurus were called in to find out what was wrong and what it would take
to fix it.  Amongst others, the now-current developers were interviewed,
and when asked, I was quite candid about the deficiencies of the
system's design and implementation.  One of the few original developers
that did relocate piped up and said, "Well, that's Ada for you." 
Without even thinking I shot back "It's not Ada, it's _poor_ design." 
And oh Lord it was.

Marc A. Criley