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=1.9 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_50,INVALID_DATE autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!rutgers!ames!sdcsvax!ucbvax!NOSC-TECR.ARPA!CONTR47 From: CONTR47@NOSC-TECR.ARPA Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Thoughts provoked by Ed Berard's articles Message-ID: <8705181900.AA13998@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU> Date: Mon, 18-May-87 12:33:24 EDT Article-I.D.: ucbvax.8705181900.AA13998 Posted: Mon May 18 12:33:24 1987 Date-Received: Tue, 19-May-87 05:44:42 EDT Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU Distribution: world Organization: The ARPA Internet List-Id: I always enjoy reading Ed Berard's articles because they are very thought provoking. I usually agree with his observations and usually disagree with his conclusions and recommendations. The recent 4 part discourse is not unusual in that respect. While reading I mentally composed pages of response and wondered which responses, if any would be worthy of net resources. Then I received a paper from the SEI by Watts S. Humphrey titled "Software Process Management" which contains a concluding thought that seems to sum up my possible responses to Ed's articles. "There is a definition of insanity that applies to software development. It is said that insane persons believe they can continue doing the same thing over and over and get different results". Upon reading that I realized that I have been insane most of my career. I was insane when I expected engineers and managers to immediately see the advantage of transistors over vacumn tubes. I was insane when I expected them to see the advantage of computers over analog control. I was insane when I expected them to see the advantage of Ada over Fortran until I said to myself "Self- That's enough- Only deal with people who have already accepted that there is an advantage and want help realizing the advantage." This happened about the same time I started my own company and became interested in profit. i.e.: There isn't much profit in missionary work. I have a placard that says "Never try to teach a pig to sing: It will waste your time and it annoys the pig." I believe that Ed is attempting to teach pigs to sing as I have often done. It is a form of insanity according to Humphrey. It takes 14 or so years for a new technology to be widely used in practice according to SEI (from my memory) and I think it will be so for modern software engineering/Ada and there isn't much Ed or I can do about it. Hopefully the SEI can do something about it through the software engineering curriculum design. So Ed, my reaction to your discourse is to not criticize anyone for not immedialtely seeing the advantages of Ada, work with the ones who ask for help. The 14 years will pas quickly and you'll be working on the next tnew technology by then. regards, sam harbaugh ---------------------