Re: How come so much traffic on

[smize@Starbase.NeoSoft.COM (Samuel Mize)]

In article <hbaker-3001951716250001@192.0.2.1>,
Henry Baker <hbaker@netcom.com> wrote:
>I've constantly been amazed by the volume of traffic on comp.lang.ada
>relative to comp.lang.c and comp.lang.c++.  ...

>I can only speculate on the reasons for this:
>
>1.  The Ada language itself is so complex ...

>Anyone else have any thoughts as to why this is?

n) A lot of computer-literate people are looking into Ada for the
   first time.  When one is learning C, one is usually also learning
   about computers.

n+1) Basic information about Ada is not well distributed, so we
     get a lot of ignorant questions.  A lot of colleges are
     only now joining the Ada bandwagon, so they don't have local
     expertise built up (while any college, including colleges
     without CS departments, has a couple of C hackers around to
     ask questions of).

     Thus, we get questions like these recent ones:  is there a
     book that describes the standard Ada packages?  (The LRM.)
     How do you do unblocking terminal I/O in DEC Ada?  (use the
     STARLET package.)  Where is it in STARLET?  (vi STARLET.ada ;
     /character<cr> ; repeat until you find the right call.  Or
     look in the DEC documents.)  How do I XXX in Ada?  (Often,
     RTF LRM).

n+2) I run into a lot of people, here and elsewhere, who have
     learned Ada as a second language, using a textbook, and who
     try to code significant Ada programs using ONLY that text.
     Blow the $US 8 for an LRM.  (Govt printing office, you can
     mail order it; most big cities have a GPO bookstore.)  Learn
     to read it (takes a little time to get used to the elaborate
     Ada terms, like "elaborate").

     Then you can stop asking "how do I do MOD arithmetic" etc.

In short, the Ada information distribution infrastructure is not
nearly as well established as the one for C/C++, so comp.lang.ada
takes up some of the slack.

Sam Mize - smize@starbase.neosoft.com