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=1.2 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,FROM_WORDY, INVALID_MSGID autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,47def5aa7b3182bd X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public From: "Nick Roberts" Subject: Re: Question (was Re: How to write TYPECASE in Ada 95?) Date: 1999/02/24 Message-ID: <7b2544$4qd$1@plug.news.pipex.net>#1/1 X-Deja-AN: 448109810 References: <79fct8$9k3$1@murdoch.acc.Virginia.EDU> <1103_918264881@DZOG-CHEN> <36cdb012.580716@news.pacbell.net> <7av52o$62g@news3.newsguy.com> <7avc0i$cnb$1@its.hooked.net> X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V4.72.3110.3 Organization: UUNET WorldCom server (post doesn't reflect views of UUNET WorldCom) Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Date: 1999-02-24T00:00:00+00:00 List-Id: Object oriented programming is considered by many to be more (or entirely) about a programming methodology (a 'mentality', if you like), rather than just a particular set of programming tools, or the characteristics of a particular programming language. It also has its own argot: you use 'objects' to model real-life entities; you organise those objects into the hierarchies - or 'classes' - their real-world analogues exhibit; objects interact by sending each other 'messages'; and so on. I think Ada 95 was always designed to provide sufficient language 'tools' to support an object-oriented methodology, without actually imposing that (or any other) methodology (or terminology), as such. You can use tagged types simply for 'programming-by-extension', without having to subscribe to the whole object oriented 'mentality'. Or, if you wish, you can use them as a part of a full-blooded object-oriented design approach. As you wish. The thing that has always stood out to me about object oriented designs is that a good design is almost always directly transferable from one programming language to another. There's definitely something fundamental about it. A good OO design can be a great design. Possibly the best thing about it is that it persuades programmers to design at a higher level of abstraction than they otherwise would. It's just a pity that all the ballyhoo surrounding the subject at the moment could easily lead a lot of people to think nothing of it. ------------------------------------- Nick Roberts -------------------------------------