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 autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Thread: 103376,751d508677a5add1 X-Google-NewGroupId: yes X-Google-Attributes: gida07f3367d7,domainid0,public,usenet X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit Path: g2news1.google.com!news4.google.com!fu-berlin.de!uni-berlin.de!individual.net!not-for-mail From: "(see below)" Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Re: [Ada] made me hate programming Date: Thu, 01 Jul 2010 15:27:29 +0100 Message-ID: References: <8f469661-370c-4484-82d8-f1b365455e0f@w12g2000yqj.googlegroups.com> <98aa58b3-50fc-418d-9f72-524b5a23c89d@t10g2000yqg.googlegroups.com> <4c2bd5e5$0$2366$4d3efbfe@news.sover.net> <4c2ca2d2$0$7666$9b4e6d93@newsspool1.arcor-online.net> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Trace: individual.net CSaTXdtMKnBej+w3B6KJ3Ajm7MHfh78+/FD3ZPwC6OsAcXcGql Cancel-Lock: sha1:Qx6XFlcyjPBr1nF6bO3zHSFP4lQ= User-Agent: Microsoft-Entourage/12.23.0.091001 Thread-Topic: [Ada] made me hate programming Thread-Index: AcsZKYjR3NG5AZgSEUSlHgGJIz9DkA== Xref: g2news1.google.com comp.lang.ada:12093 Date: 2010-07-01T15:27:29+01:00 List-Id: On 01/07/2010 15:14, in article 4c2ca2d2$0$7666$9b4e6d93@newsspool1.arcor-online.net, "Georg Bauhaus" wrote: > Ada provides for a solution to the problem caused by the advanced > technicalities in error messages, I think, using Ada's language profiles In my experience there are no such problems in teaching Ada, with GNAT at any rate. GNAT's error messages are generally of high quality at the moment, and in my experience quite understandable to beginners. > ... like Ravenscar, but with a focus on teaching: > define a profile to be a language subset a la "Teach Packs" in DrScheme. > Teach packs, IIUC, will let you use, teach, and hence understand just the > parts of Ada that some programming subject demands. Compilers that > are "aware" of the profile can then stop printing what is, in effect, > gibberish in a teaching situation. > > Instead, compilers diagnose something more easily explained: > file.ada:123: "X is not supported in This-Teach-Pack" Why do you think this would be comprehensible to beginners, or even desirable? It is a message about a pedagogical meta-level that has nothing whatever to do with the problems of learning algorithmic construction through the medium of a language. -- Bill Findlay chez blueyonder.co.uk