From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.5-pre1 (2020-06-20) on ip-172-31-74-118.ec2.internal X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.9 required=3.0 tests=BAYES_00 autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.5-pre1 Date: 11 Dec 92 01:46:16 GMT From: alex@MIMSY.CS.UMD.EDU (Alex Blakemore) Subject: Re: Ada & PDL (ick !) Message-ID: <62751@mimsy.umd.edu> List-Id: In article <1992Dec10.200346.1406@den.mmc.com> heck@hercules.den.mmc.com writes : > I have found Ada PDL is a good design tool I second that - along with a *few* key pictures (not necessarily bubbles) Ada as PDL also supports iterative development, forming contracts between devel opers early (based on commented specs). It takes some discipline to resist the urge to march right into some interesting routine while leaving the big picture half baked, but thats true with PDL in general. DEC supports a mode on their compiler (/DESIGN I think) that just does front en d checking and relaxes some Ada rules - specifically for supporting PDL. For example, you can have LSE tokens and placeholders in the file, dont have to bother supplying private parts and a few other niceties. This way you can quickly check your de sign level specs for consistency without having to fill in all the details to get pa st the compiler. Then just dont use the design compiler option when you're ready to get serious. One last DEC ad, they were demoing some really great compiler advances at TriAd a - smart recompilation so that if you only change one procedure (say) in a package spec, then only the units that actually reference that procedure have to be rec ompiled. all the other units that depend on the revised package are just magically broug ht up to date. This could be a real boon to large system development. They said it would be i n the next version. (I know Rational does similar things, but many dont have access o ne) -- --------------------------------------------------- Alex Blakemore alex@cs.umd.edu NeXT mail accepted