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From: Robert Dewar <robert_dewar@my-dejanews.com>
Subject: Re: GNAT versions ( was :Ada compiler for PC?)
Date: 1999/05/08
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Date: 1999-05-08T00:00:00+00:00
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In article <J3YY2.2192$2j3.3654@clnws01.we.mediaone.net>,
  pmartin@mail.earthlink.net (Pascal F. Martin) wrote:
> This is an idealistic view, as proving an interface correct is not
(yet)
> exact science. The mechanical and engineering science use a different
> sequence which I like very much, as it copes with real life problems:
>
> design and document the interfaces
> refine the interfaces till they are accepted by peers
> implement (this may infere a few changes in the interfaces)
> document the interfaces "as built".

Sure some iteration is required, but it can often be minimized,
and you can come very close to the ideal.

For example, for one project I did for Honeywell, a full real time
executive, with thread support, synchronization primitives, integral
debugger etc, was done by FIRST writing the user reference manual
documenting the API in completely detail, THEN writing the executive
(some 50,000 lines of assembly code). very few changes were required
to the manual, almost all stylistic copy-editing stuff (they hired
an English PhD to look over the manual and I had to let her make
a *few* changes to avoid her completely destroying important technical
stuff :-)

But in any case our discussion here is over detail. Either approach
is very far from the "implement first, document alter if at all"
method :-)

Robert Dewar


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