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=-1.3 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,INVALID_MSGID autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,b87849933931bc93 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public From: "Marin David Condic, 561.796.8997, M/S 731-93" Subject: Re: What is wrong with OO ? Date: 1996/12/16 Message-ID: <96121617595536@psavax.pwfl.com>#1/1 X-Deja-AN: 204653535 sender: Ada programming language comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU x-vms-to: SMTP%"INFO-ADA@VM1.NODAK.EDU" newsgroups: comp.lang.ada x-vms-cc: CONDIC Date: 1996-12-16T00:00:00+00:00 List-Id: Matt Kennel writes: >Nick Leaton (nickle@calfp.co.uk) wrote: >: Piercarlo Grandi wrote: > >: > Perhaps the reverse: if the tools were really advanced, perhaps >: > including a program generator (and despite claims to the contrary no >: > such thing has been yet produced), then high level design activity would >: > be almost all the project. > >: Available now, called a programer. > >Exactamundo. The 'tool' is known as a "programming language". > >I don't understand the obsession with "high level design tools" outside >programming languages. > >Programming langauges *are* the proper "high level design tool", and despite >seeming fuddy-duddy and old-fashioned, progress in programming language has >always been, and will continue to be, the most potent means to deliver the >fruits of research to programmers. > I've seen this happen at my company. We built a "design" tool which enables logic developers to draw pictures of their logic and a picture compiler spits out Ada code. It works pretty well and yes indeed, we reduced the number of "programmers" who were previously translating logic diagrams into Ada code. However, the logic designers suddenly had to become cognizant of number scalings, correct syntax, data dictionaries, compilation order, etc. Their workload went up some. In effect, they simply became programmers in a "picture language" instead of a "word language". One has to wonder if it wouldn't have simply saved time to teach the logic designers how to write code directly in Ada??? Yet in the end, it's still a good idea for us and did save us in the area of productivity. You see, the Gummit spake and said: "Thou shalt make for us a book with lots of pictures in it" so we were going to make the pictures anyway. Might just as well get some automatic code generation out of the work you were going to do anyway. But then again, one must remember that our type of software has to live in a very unusual world. The guys who are writing spreadsheet programs or word processors don't have the same requirements and so they don't likely need the same sorts of "design tools" (if they need any at all?) MDC Marin David Condic, Senior Computer Engineer ATT: 561.796.8997 M/S 731-96 Technet: 796.8997 Pratt & Whitney, GESP Fax: 561.796.4669 P.O. Box 109600 Internet: CONDICMA@PWFL.COM West Palm Beach, FL 33410-9600 Internet: CONDIC@FLINET.COM =============================================================================== "There is just one thing I can promise you about the outer-space program: your dollars will go farther." -- Wernher von Braun ===============================================================================