Re: An observation of Ada (may offend)

[l107353@cliffy.lfwc.lockheed.com (Garlington KE)]

Robert I. Eachus (eachus@spectre.mitre.org) wrote:
:     As I said, what I like about this approach is that it allows you
: to delay adding the pragmas until the appropriate point--sometime
: between integration and FQT.  Before then, adding a child is a
: detailed design decision, and the only major issue should be the need
: to update the documentation.  After that point, you are in a
: maintenance mode where the consequences of adding an "unanticipated"
: child could be severe, and I certainly wouldn't permit it without a
: through review.  Under most circumstances I can forsee, such an add-on
: would walk like a kludge, and quack like a kludge.

I actually have this wacky idea that we might be able to start reusing
packages from project to project without modification, in which case I may
want to add new child
packages well after FQT. I wouldn't call it a "kludge" -- just an ability
to add new features without having to rewrite half of the package every
time I want to change the available features!

:     The major advantage of the pragma is to the maintainer.  Without
: the pragma, a global search, or some documentation, he has no idea
: what children are part of the unit he is maintaining.  This can save
: days of maintenance time with little or no cost.

If the maintainer has no tools or documentation (in our case, he has both),
this issue is the least of his problems.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Ken Garlington                  GarlingtonKE@lfwc.lockheed.com
F-22 Computer Resources         Lockheed Fort Worth Co.

If LFWC or the F-22 program has any opinions, they aren't telling me.