From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=0.7 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,INVALID_DATE, MSGID_SHORT,REPLYTO_WITHOUT_TO_CC autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!bloom-beacon!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!mailrus!ames!ucsd!ucsdhub!hp-sdd!hplabs!sdcrdcf!trwrb!trwspf!dragon From: dragon@trwspf.TRW.COM (Roger Vossler) Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Re: Ada Compiler for Educational Use Message-ID: <763@trwspf.TRW.COM> Date: 14 May 88 00:51:59 GMT References: <8805121644.AA02786@june.cs.washington.edu> Reply-To: dragon@trwspf.UUCP (Roger Vossler) Organization: TRW - Data Systems Lab., Redondo Beach, CA List-Id: In article <8805121644.AA02786@june.cs.washington.edu> pattis@JUNE.CS.WASHINGTON.EDU (Richard Pattis) writes: * * I have been teaching the CS-1 and CS-2 courses here at the University of *Washington in Modula-2 for the past 4 years. I am now strongly considering *teaching Ada in these classes. I would like to solicit recommendations for *compilers: we use a large VAX/VMS for instruction, but will also ultimately *need compilers for our own department's machines (mostly VAX/ULTRIX and Suns). In a word: DON'T! We have used Modula-2 a lot in our laboratory for constructing a multi-sensor testbed to do high performance image processing, synthetic aperture radar processing, and other applications. Modula-2 has worked beautifully for this: it's clean, simple, elegant, etc. Most of these prototypes are in the 50,000 to 100,000 lines of code catagory. We are also a large aerospace contractor which provides defense systems, electronic systems, and spacecraft systems to the government. Needless to say, more and more of this work is in Ada. We have a need for Ada trained systems programmers as do many other defense contractors. I would much prefer to hire people trained thoroughly in Modula-2 before we hit them with Ada. Why? As a hiring manager, I want my young people to know how good it can be before I show them how bad it can get. I do not want universities damaging their minds any more than necessary before I hire them. While many parts of Ada are useful, much of it is unnecessary for teaching basic concepts, particularly, in something like CS-1 or CS-2 (I'm assuming that these are entry level courses). If you really must teach Ada, do it after they have a solid foundation - not when their minds are soft and tender. I am not anti-Ada. Ada is a real advance in software engineering when compared to assembly language and Fortran which is still widely used on defense systems. I have argued that Modula-2 is the subset of Ada that Ada should have been before committees and contractors realized that they could get rich from it. Sigh. -- -- Roger Vossler TRW, Bldg O2-1395, One Space Park, Redondo Beach, CA 90278 BIX: rvossler UseNet: dragon@trwspf.trw.com ATT: 213.535.2804 ....!trwrb!trwspf!dragon