Re: Text_IO for other standard types

["Jean-Pierre Rosen" <rosen.adalog@wanadoo.fr>]

[-- Warning: decoded text below may be mangled, UTF-8 assumed --]
[-- Attachment #1: Type: text/plain, Size: 1571 bytes --]


Marin David Condic, 561.796.8997, M/S 731-96 a �crit dans le message
<98010912585349@psavax.pwfl.com>...
>    And while we're at it, would there be some food value in requiring
>    a few extra predefined types? I'm thinking of predefined Modular
>    types similar to predefined Integer types and possibly some
>    convenient Decimal Fixed Point types (most commonly used for
>    money, I suppose).
>
>    My reasoning for having these and their corresponding predefined
>    I/O instantiations is that it would make the language easier to
>    teach. Generics and even to some extent type declarations
>    themselves can be inaccessible to the beginning programmer or a
>    programmer familiar only with more primitive languages. Having
>    predefined types for modular numbers would enable one to teach or
>    discuss modular math & build simple programs to illustrate this
>    without having to delve into the heavier concepts of type
>    definition or generic instantiation.
NO, NO, NO, NEVER.
One of the most important things in Ada teaching is to train people to
design types according to the problem domain, and forget about predefined
types. Forcing people to forget about Integer is in my experience one of the
most difficult things.
OTOH, teaching a total newcomer about type definitions, and about the fact
that you cannot add apples and oranges is easy, easier than to an
experienced programmer.

More predefined types would be a help only if you teach Ada the same way
that you teach other languages, and (IMHO) that's the last thing to do.