Selling Ada as a first language

Selling Ada as a first language

[Debora Weber-Wulff]

[Haven't been lurking much lately, but I want to share this story
with you]
The date had been set to instantiate the programming language for
the Technical Computer Science curriculum canon. We had a new
canon that has a generic course sequence "Programming I-II-I".
We had planned an entire afternoon for the discussion. The
hands-on, practical, hardware types were dead set on C[++], the
idealistic, theoretical software types (most of them) wanted to
have Ada (which is the first language we teach
in the General Computer Science canon). We began the traditional
exchange of arguments/epithets/personal attacks, it looked like it
was going to be an all-nighter, as we had to decide on a language
VERY SOON. 
 
Then the "flange model" emerged (flange hopefully being the right
term a joiner would use for this wooden connection). We have 3
semester courses, the first is 4 hours lecture, the second two are
each 2 hour lecture courses. It looks like this:
 
+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
|                                |tagged types    |               | 
| Ada                            |tasks, generics | Stuff like    +
|                                | /-------------/| Drivers,      +
| Concepts           /-----------+/               | Heavy pointers+
|                   / C Syntax   | Classes,       | Problems      +
|                  /             | Templates      |               +
+-----------------/--------------|----------------|---------------+
 
We start them off with a good breakfast: all the basics in Ada. We
inform them of the syntax in C[++] and some of the quirks. In the
second semester we switch to C++, but show the nice syntax and
the tasks in Ada. In the third semester we show them how to do
all the nasty stuff. 

And everyone nodded their heads, that sounds reasonable.
What a compromise! Everyone won a little, we will run an experiment
next semester to see how the model goes over. Just wanted to give
folks the idea, I'm sure we're not the only ones who fight
language wars :-)

Cheers,
--
Debora Weber-Wulff (Professorin fuer Softwaretechnik und Programmiersprachen)
Technische Fachhochschule Berlin, FB Informatik, Luxemburger Str. 10, 
13353 Berlin, Germany        email: weberwu@tfh-berlin.de   
<http://www.tfh-berlin.de/~weberwu/> 

TC ACM SIGAda, Wed, July 17th, 6p.m. -- Grady Booch

[Paul D. Stachour]

     
Twin Cities SIGAda presents:
     
Grady Booch

Wed., July 17, 1996
6:00 PM
Sheraton Metrodome
Minneapolis, Minnesota
     

This is part of a UDLC sponsored job-fair.  

For job-fair details, point your web-browser to
  www.winternet.com/~stachour/ada/jul_96_mtg.txt

A featured attraction of this event is a presentation and Q&A session 
with Grady Booch, Chief Scientist at Rational Software Corporation.  
Mr. Booch has pioneered the development of object-oriented analysis 
and design methods and will talk on Engineering Large Object-Oriented 
Systems.  His presentation will cover modern software engineering 
practices, including the use of Ada95.
     
The Sheraton Metrodome (formerly Minneapolis Hilton) is located on 
Interstate 35W and Industrial Blvd. - approximately 2 miles north of 
downtown Minneapolis.  Parking is free.
     
Refreshments will be served.

Copies of the GNAT Ada95 Translator will be available.

--
Paul D. Stachour, Software Engineer and Methodologist
9532 First Avenue South                 260-6A-08 3M Center
Bloomington, Minnesota 55420            St. Paul, Minnesota 55144
(612)-884-5977  stachour@winternet.com  (612)-733-5217  pdstachour@mmm.com