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_00,LOTS_OF_MONEY autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,bc1361a952ec75ca X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2001-07-31 08:00:06 PST Path: archiver1.google.com!newsfeed.google.com!newsfeed.stanford.edu!newsfeed.gamma.ru!Gamma.RU!aaanet.ru!not-for-mail From: "Gary Lisyansky" Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Re: How to make Ada a dominant language Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2001 18:56:28 +0400 Organization: AAA Intersvyaz Message-ID: <9k6guu$2o7j$1@pa.aaanet.ru> References: <3B6555ED.9B0B0420@sneakemail.com> <9k3l9r$10i2$1@pa.aaanet.ru> <3B656345.64AB603A@sneakemail.com> <9k3oa1$2qg8$1@pa.aaanet.ru> <3B657715.7EC592D9@sneakemail.com> <3B6588FC.6D40C443@sneakemail.com> <87snfe9sir.fsf@520075220525-0001.dialin.t-online.de> NNTP-Posting-Host: 213.59.110.211 X-Trace: pa.aaanet.ru 996591390 90355 213.59.110.211 (31 Jul 2001 14:56:30 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@news.aaanet.ru NNTP-Posting-Date: 31 Jul 2001 14:56:30 GMT X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2919.6700 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2919.6700 Xref: archiver1.google.com comp.lang.ada:10869 Date: 2001-07-31T14:56:30+00:00 List-Id: "Ted Dennison" wrote in message news:Joz97.12578$ar1.38154@www.newsranger.com... > In article , Milan Mancel > I have heard this so much from Ada newbies over the years (ones that I'm pretty > sure have *not* heard it from the others), that I begin to think there is a > large amount of truth in it. But I have to admit that I can't hear that > statement without chuckling. > > I shouldn't laugh, because it is meant seriously. But complaining about being > forced to think while programming is like complaining about being forced to > immerse yourself while swimming; it is the very nature of the task. A real > developer can no more sit down at a keyboard and just "hack" out a good program > than a real writer can just sit down at a word-processor and hack out a good > novel. I know some writers who actually formally outline their *emails* before > starting to write them. But for some reason this level of forethought is not > appreciated by the masses where software development is concerned. > > T.E.D. homepage - http://www.telepath.com/dennison/Ted/TED.html > home email - mailto:dennison@telepath.com I think that good programming practices and languages designed to support them (like Ada) don't go along well with the software process ideology prevailing now in commercial development. Instead of comparatively straitforward process (requirements -> specification -> design -> implementation) it is centered around *frequent re- writing* of code and early demonstrations of UI/features, followed by iterational re- design. Quite frequently even the interdependancies of part of the project is ignored, just to show something resembling a working application- usually a part of functionality with no even error handling. To make things worse, the customers/management tend to think that demonstrated features are *fully implemented*, thus giving no time for clean- ups. In common, I would say that parts of software process that don't produce user- visible results that don't have PR value tend to be shunned. Another trouble comes from RAD world. RAD tools created many "programmers" who don't even understand how their applications actually work. They think on the level of Forms and Event Handlers, i. e. have a heavily fragmented vision of the program that doesn't allow them to see the system as a whole. The "nec plus ultra" of this approach was one project where the schedule listed only screen forms, with one month allocated per one, and totally no mentioning of any application core. Gary