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=-0.4 required=5.0 tests=AC_FROM_MANY_DOTS,BAYES_00 autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,7ee10ec601726fbf X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2001-10-11 07:25:08 PST Path: archiver1.google.com!news1.google.com!newsfeed.stanford.edu!news-spur1.maxwell.syr.edu!news.maxwell.syr.edu!news-x2.support.nl!news-x.support.nl!psinet-eu-nl!psiuk-p4!uknet!psiuk-n!news.pace.co.uk!nh.pace.co.uk!not-for-mail From: "Marin David Condic" Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Re: why not "standardize" the Booch Components? (was Re: is Ada dying?) Date: Thu, 11 Oct 2001 10:14:03 -0400 Organization: Posted on a server owned by Pace Micro Technology plc Message-ID: <9q49fc$nh3$1@nh.pace.co.uk> References: <3BC30674.BA88AAB6@brighton.ac.uk> <9pvv3t$ves$1@news.huji.ac.il> NNTP-Posting-Host: dhcp-200-133.miami.pace.co.uk X-Trace: nh.pace.co.uk 1002809644 24099 136.170.200.133 (11 Oct 2001 14:14:04 GMT) X-Complaints-To: newsmaster@news.cam.pace.co.uk NNTP-Posting-Date: 11 Oct 2001 14:14:04 GMT X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.50.4522.1200 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.50.4522.1200 Xref: archiver1.google.com comp.lang.ada:14264 Date: 2001-10-11T14:14:04+00:00 List-Id: I looked over the Booch Components several years ago and have not revisited them since. Perhaps they have evolved some since then so my comments may not be appropriate. One big weakness I found in them was a general lack of documentation. If *any* set of data-structury-ADT-ish stuff is to be adopted as a de-facto standard (presumably, tacked on with compiler distributions, etc.) it would need some documentation that explains the behavior and proper use of the classes/packages. You can't dump a library on a newbie and say "Here: Read the code and figure it out for yourself..." It need not be a textbook, but some minimal level of a user's manual needs to be there. Demo/Test programs - it had some when I looked it over. I thought they could stand to be a little more thorough and possibly illustrative of proper usage - build a document that hyperlinks to example & test code? It ought to be noted that something like the Booch components are not going to be suitable for all applications. If they rely on dynamic memory, they may be unsuitable for any sort of realtime work. If they rely on fixed memory, they may not be suitable for very dynamic workstation apps. If they provide both implementations, they may be "too big" and/or offer too many choices to the user. IOW, they cannot be all things to all users and hence it should be clear as to what the intended usage is. One thing that may be important is to consider how they might be extended to include new features should the need become apparent. Could this serve as the basis for a more general library of components rather than just a data-structure library? (Bundle into it things like an OS interface, network support, math libraries, etc.?) Also, one of the things I found very useful in the MFC was the ability to "serialize" an object. The same thing is possible in Ada95 with streams. It would be A Good Thing if the Booch components provided Load/Store operations from/to a Stream file. Licensing is another issue. Some people love the GPL, but others may not want to contaminate their code with that. What license is the Booch Components currently under and does it allow unfettered use in everything from "Open Source" (whatever that means currently) to totally proprietary - maybe even classified - applications? MDC -- Marin David Condic Senior Software Engineer Pace Micro Technology Americas www.pacemicro.com Enabling the digital revolution e-Mail: marin.condic@pacemicro.com Web: http://www.mcondic.com/ "Pat Rogers" wrote in message news:Bggx7.314$KN5.148429887@newssvr11.news.prodigy.com... > "Ehud Lamm" wrote in message > news:9pvv3t$ves$1@news.huji.ac.il... > > > > > I think that adding Collections to the standard library would be a big > help. > > I find it sad that when I want to explain what Collections are, I print > > stuff from the Java docs ;-( > > This is an issue that has troubled me for some time. > > Many of us have developed libraries of reusable components over the years. > It is a great way to learn a language. We all have things we like about > them. Some are extensive and well done. However, we would all clearly > benefit by agreeing to make one of them the de facto standard. (Formal > standardization is desirable too, IMHO.) > > I propose the Booch Components be that standard. If there is a better suite > I haven't seen it and I've seen many of them. However, there may very well > be a better collection of components. Let's discuss them. > > Whatever we choose, an incomplete list of steps required include: > > Start using them instead of our individual in-house favorites. That's > the hard part. > > Have a community-wide decision to adopt them, so that the above can > happen. Unless a significant number of people publicly agree to adopt them > there will be few individuals willing to make the change. > > > Thoughts? > > --- > Patrick Rogers Consulting and Training in: > http://www.classwide.com Real-Time/OO Languages > progers@classwide.com Hard Deadline Schedulability Analysis > (281)648-3165 Software Fault Tolerance > >