The older you are the stupider you are?

The older you are the stupider you are?

[David Botton]

(I try not to cross post to much, so if you saw this on Linked'In sorry)

I recall as I was getting older that despite a great reputation and fantastic portfolio of small to mid size business software projects, the average client was looking at the grey hairs in my beard and wondering if I was going to be able to code something "innovative" for his business?

(I often joke that is one of the reasons I became a doctor of oriental medicine, in medicine the older I get the wiser I am in the eyes of the patients)

Ada for small to mid size business consulting actually has the power to break the stereo type. I speak from 12 years of experience using Ada for business consulting and while Ada is not used in the majority of my projects, a good number of my projects both desktop and web have been written partly or entirely in Ada.

1) Ada carries with it a prestige. "I am going to code you a system in the same language used for Missiles and Fighter planes." - Wow cool

2) "You know when you want a system that is going to do exactly what you want, best if you can read for yourself what I am doing, here have a look at this code..." - I can understand that, you make a great point! (I always make sure to carry some garbage C and JS code.. good luck, the developers that wrote that stuff can't even read it)

3) "If you find a developer that codes in Ada you know you have a pro, not some kid putting back doors to blackmail you later " - Makes sense

4) "I choose the best tool for the job and anyone with my experience level can tell you it is the design not the language that matters and the best job for your large system is Ada." - You have the experience

5) "Ada was once mandated for use because it was a solid design choice by engineers, not some internet home-brew project like C++ or a Mickey mouse toy scripting language like Java Script, your project needs power, stability and a solid 30 year old language reviewed and updated last in 2012" (I bet you didn't know the mandate was a selling point, huh :)

Gnoga's framework brings what you need to code for the cloud in Ada faster and easier than with current web technologies in any other language and lets you leverage the JS frameworks existing to bringing your business apps the "Sexy" they need to close the deal.

Ada is the winning choice for Small to Mid Size Business Software. Time is coming to let them know it!

David Botton

Re: The older you are the stupider you are?

[brbarkstrom]

On Monday, November 3, 2014 9:07:09 PM UTC-5, David Botton wrote:
> (I try not to cross post to much, so if you saw this on Linked'In sorry)
> 
> I recall as I was getting older that despite a great reputation and fantastic portfolio of small to mid size business software projects, the average client was looking at the grey hairs in my beard and wondering if I was going to be able to code something "innovative" for his business?
> 
> (I often joke that is one of the reasons I became a doctor of oriental medicine, in medicine the older I get the wiser I am in the eyes of the patients)
> 
> Ada for small to mid size business consulting actually has the power to break the stereo type. I speak from 12 years of experience using Ada for business consulting and while Ada is not used in the majority of my projects, a good number of my projects both desktop and web have been written partly or entirely in Ada.
> 
> 1) Ada carries with it a prestige. "I am going to code you a system in the same language used for Missiles and Fighter planes." - Wow cool
> 
> 2) "You know when you want a system that is going to do exactly what you want, best if you can read for yourself what I am doing, here have a look at this code..." - I can understand that, you make a great point! (I always make sure to carry some garbage C and JS code.. good luck, the developers that wrote that stuff can't even read it)
> 
> 3) "If you find a developer that codes in Ada you know you have a pro, not some kid putting back doors to blackmail you later " - Makes sense
> 
> 4) "I choose the best tool for the job and anyone with my experience level can tell you it is the design not the language that matters and the best job for your large system is Ada." - You have the experience
> 
> 5) "Ada was once mandated for use because it was a solid design choice by engineers, not some internet home-brew project like C++ or a Mickey mouse toy scripting language like Java Script, your project needs power, stability and a solid 30 year old language reviewed and updated last in 2012" (I bet you didn't know the mandate was a selling point, huh :)
> 
> Gnoga's framework brings what you need to code for the cloud in Ada faster and easier than with current web technologies in any other language and lets you leverage the JS frameworks existing to bringing your business apps the "Sexy" they need to close the deal.
> 
> Ada is the winning choice for Small to Mid Size Business Software. Time is coming to let them know it!
> 
> David Botton

Many times it's helpful to maintain a sense of humor - at least
to preserve one's sanity.  I came across

https://www.thc.org/root/phun/unmaintain.html

which is a very long rant about deliberately working to confuse
maintenance programmers while directing blame for the problems
elsewhere.  It's a longish read, so look at it when time isn't
critical.  Lots of good advice on Java techniques to frustrate 
long-term maintenance cost-reduction.

Bruce B.

Re: The older you are the stupider you are?

[brbarkstrom]

On Monday, November 3, 2014 9:07:09 PM UTC-5, David Botton wrote:
> (I try not to cross post to much, so if you saw this on Linked'In sorry)
> 
> I recall as I was getting older that despite a great reputation and fantastic portfolio of small to mid size business software projects, the average client was looking at the grey hairs in my beard and wondering if I was going to be able to code something "innovative" for his business?
> 
> (I often joke that is one of the reasons I became a doctor of oriental medicine, in medicine the older I get the wiser I am in the eyes of the patients)
> 
> Ada for small to mid size business consulting actually has the power to break the stereo type. I speak from 12 years of experience using Ada for business consulting and while Ada is not used in the majority of my projects, a good number of my projects both desktop and web have been written partly or entirely in Ada.
> 
> 1) Ada carries with it a prestige. "I am going to code you a system in the same language used for Missiles and Fighter planes." - Wow cool
> 
> 2) "You know when you want a system that is going to do exactly what you want, best if you can read for yourself what I am doing, here have a look at this code..." - I can understand that, you make a great point! (I always make sure to carry some garbage C and JS code.. good luck, the developers that wrote that stuff can't even read it)
> 
> 3) "If you find a developer that codes in Ada you know you have a pro, not some kid putting back doors to blackmail you later " - Makes sense
> 
> 4) "I choose the best tool for the job and anyone with my experience level can tell you it is the design not the language that matters and the best job for your large system is Ada." - You have the experience
> 
> 5) "Ada was once mandated for use because it was a solid design choice by engineers, not some internet home-brew project like C++ or a Mickey mouse toy scripting language like Java Script, your project needs power, stability and a solid 30 year old language reviewed and updated last in 2012" (I bet you didn't know the mandate was a selling point, huh :)
> 
> Gnoga's framework brings what you need to code for the cloud in Ada faster and easier than with current web technologies in any other language and lets you leverage the JS frameworks existing to bringing your business apps the "Sexy" they need to close the deal.
> 
> Ada is the winning choice for Small to Mid Size Business Software. Time is coming to let them know it!
> 
> David Botton

Another strategy might be to adopt a "good enough for practical application"
strategy without pursuing a "perfect" solution.  In this alternative strategy,
what's needed are tools that provide competitive advantage to small to medium
sized businesses where Ada should provide some key advantages:
1.  Faster development time
2.  Lower cost of maintaining the system over lifetimes of one to three years

In this case, it might make sense to choose one of the standard Linux 
distributions and use their gcc (and related) packages.  cgi-bin might work
in that case - it has the advantage of being compiled.  The key to making 
this a successful business strategy is probably going to be standardizing
the development framework and selecting appropriate niche markets for starting
out.  It doesn't make sense to compete directly with AdaCore's competitive
advantage in life-critical systems.  Rather, it will be necessary to demonstrate
Ada advantages in agile development, on-time delivery, service guarantees,
and lower maintenance cost (over a one to three-year lifecycle).

Bruce B.

Re: The older you are the stupider you are?

[David Botton]

> strategy without pursuing a "perfect" solution. 

Not sure this is a different strategy.

> 1.  Faster development time

Gnoga and Ada does that for web apps.

> 2.  Lower cost of maintaining the system over lifetimes of one to three years

Ada provides that.

> In this case, it might make sense to choose one of the standard Linux 
> distributions and use their gcc (and related) packages.

The upcoming Debian Jesse has all that is needed for Gnoga.

>  cgi-bin might work

Not needed for Gnoga, not sure why anyone would use either.

> in that case - it has the advantage of being compiled.

Gnoga is compiled and doesn't have the disadvantages of CGI.

>  The key to making 
> this a successful business strategy is probably going to be standardizing
> the development framework and selecting appropriate niche markets for starting out.

Done, Gnoga and its upcoming market place for pre-canned small business software, components and connection to consultants and developers.

>  It doesn't make sense to compete directly with AdaCore's competitive
> advantage in life-critical systems.

AdaCore doesn't work with the Applications space at all. I am also in contact (well in theory in contact) with them and plan on discussions to make the space profitable for them as well as others getting in to it. They are the main maintainers of the compiler and it would be nice to have them on board and not trying to harm any effort in their misunderstanding of how it helps them in the small and big picture.

>  Rather, it will be necessary to demonstrate
> Ada advantages in agile development, on-time delivery, service guarantees,
> and lower maintenance cost (over a one to three-year lifecycle).

Agreed, the stronger the show there the better.

David Botton

Re: The older you are the stupider you are?

[mockturtle]

On Tuesday, November 4, 2014 3:50:13 PM UTC+1, brbar...@gmail.com wrote:
> On Monday, November 3, 2014 9:07:09 PM UTC-5, David Botton wrote:
> > (I try not to cross post to much, so if you saw this on Linked'In sorry)
> > 
> > I recall as I was getting older that despite a great reputation and fantastic portfolio of small to mid size business software projects, the average client was looking at the grey hairs in my beard and wondering if I was going to be able to code something "innovative" for his business?
> > 
> > (I often joke that is one of the reasons I became a doctor of oriental medicine, in medicine the older I get the wiser I am in the eyes of the patients)
> > 
> > Ada for small to mid size business consulting actually has the power to break the stereo type. I speak from 12 years of experience using Ada for business consulting and while Ada is not used in the majority of my projects, a good number of my projects both desktop and web have been written partly or entirely in Ada.
> > 
> > 1) Ada carries with it a prestige. "I am going to code you a system in the same language used for Missiles and Fighter planes." - Wow cool
> > 
> > 2) "You know when you want a system that is going to do exactly what you want, best if you can read for yourself what I am doing, here have a look at this code..." - I can understand that, you make a great point! (I always make sure to carry some garbage C and JS code.. good luck, the developers that wrote that stuff can't even read it)
> > 
> > 3) "If you find a developer that codes in Ada you know you have a pro, not some kid putting back doors to blackmail you later " - Makes sense
> > 
> > 4) "I choose the best tool for the job and anyone with my experience level can tell you it is the design not the language that matters and the best job for your large system is Ada." - You have the experience
> > 
> > 5) "Ada was once mandated for use because it was a solid design choice by engineers, not some internet home-brew project like C++ or a Mickey mouse toy scripting language like Java Script, your project needs power, stability and a solid 30 year old language reviewed and updated last in 2012" (I bet you didn't know the mandate was a selling point, huh :)
> > 
> > Gnoga's framework brings what you need to code for the cloud in Ada faster and easier than with current web technologies in any other language and lets you leverage the JS frameworks existing to bringing your business apps the "Sexy" they need to close the deal.
> > 
> > Ada is the winning choice for Small to Mid Size Business Software. Time is coming to let them know it!
> > 
> > David Botton
> 
> Many times it's helpful to maintain a sense of humor - at least
> to preserve one's sanity.  I came across
> 
> https://www.thc.org/root/phun/unmaintain.html
> 
> which is a very long rant about deliberately working to confuse
> maintenance programmers while directing blame for the problems
> elsewhere.  It's a longish read, so look at it when time isn't
> critical.  Lots of good advice on Java techniques to frustrate 
> long-term maintenance cost-reduction.
> 
> Bruce B.

From the text:

   Rename and Reuse

   This trick works especially well in Ada, a language immune to 
   many of the standard obfuscation techniques. 

:-)

Re: The older you are the stupider you are?

[brbarkstrom]

On Tuesday, November 4, 2014 1:31:29 PM UTC-5, David Botton wrote:
> > strategy without pursuing a "perfect" solution. 
> 
> Not sure this is a different strategy.
> 
> > 1.  Faster development time
> 
> Gnoga and Ada does that for web apps.
> 
> > 2.  Lower cost of maintaining the system over lifetimes of one to three years
> 
> Ada provides that.
> 
> > In this case, it might make sense to choose one of the standard Linux 
> > distributions and use their gcc (and related) packages.
> 
> The upcoming Debian Jesse has all that is needed for Gnoga.
> 
> >  cgi-bin might work
> 
> Not needed for Gnoga, not sure why anyone would use either.
> 
> > in that case - it has the advantage of being compiled.
> 
> Gnoga is compiled and doesn't have the disadvantages of CGI.
> 
> >  The key to making 
> > this a successful business strategy is probably going to be standardizing
> > the development framework and selecting appropriate niche markets for starting out.
> 
> Done, Gnoga and its upcoming market place for pre-canned small business software, components and connection to consultants and developers.
> 
> >  It doesn't make sense to compete directly with AdaCore's competitive
> > advantage in life-critical systems.
> 
> AdaCore doesn't work with the Applications space at all. I am also in contact (well in theory in contact) with them and plan on discussions to make the space profitable for them as well as others getting in to it. They are the main maintainers of the compiler and it would be nice to have them on board and not trying to harm any effort in their misunderstanding of how it helps them in the small and big picture.
> 
> >  Rather, it will be necessary to demonstrate
> > Ada advantages in agile development, on-time delivery, service guarantees,
> > and lower maintenance cost (over a one to three-year lifecycle).
> 
> Agreed, the stronger the show there the better.
> 
> David Botton

Now, get off the window ledge and enjoy the work.  The last six months of 
election advertising ought to be enough gloom and doom.

Re: The older you are the stupider you are?

[David Botton]

> Now, get off the window ledge and enjoy the work.  The last six months of 
> election advertising ought to be enough gloom and doom.

Not fully sure I understand, but I've enjoyed getting the Gnoga framework to 1.0 (pre-release soon) and now enjoying on working on the upcoming business side.

Thank God I don't own a television or listen to the radio, so I have no idea what is going on advertising wise. I'll spend a bit of time reading up on each candidate before the elections and make my picks then. News is a nasty thing, no truth in it so why bother.

David Botton