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From: Bill Findlay <yaldnif.w@blueyonder.co.uk>
Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada
Subject: Re: Gnat 2013 is out!
Date: Thu, 30 May 2013 09:01:17 +0100
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Date: 2013-05-30T09:01:17+01:00
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On 30/05/2013 03:01, in article
32d94173-533a-471e-95a0-abb73a6cdcc2@googlegroups.com, "Adam Beneschan"
<adam@irvine.com> wrote:

> Even before Ada 2012, it's been possible to run into a problem with "distinct
> access paths".

Not just in Ada of course.

The worst 'program' I ever saw was 'written' in 'FORTRAN'.
Yes, those quotes are meant to scare you.

In the mid 80s a graduate student visiting Glasgow was sent to me for help.
A program, which she had brought with her from an even more ancient seat of
learning, would not work on the GU Computing Service computer.

This program consisted of many subroutines, each of which referenced all of
the many COMMON areas, listing out their contents in toto, whether they were
needed or not.  

Each COMMON area contained many variables.

Each subroutine had many parameters, the actual parameters of most calls
being being a selection of variables from the COMMON areas.

Variables in COMMON were also used directly.
Many times. Many, many times. Many times.

She assured me that the program did work, back in the Fens.
Dear reader, do not rush to judge her!
It had been written by her eminent supervisor.

So when I offered my considered opinion, that it was the biggest pile of
programmatic cack I had ever set eyes on, she was understandably reluctant
to communicate that message back to base.

I explained the concept of aliasing; suggested that it was very unlikely
that such code could be made, with any reasonable amount of effort, to work
away from home; and that it very probably did not really work even there, no
matter how lofty her supervisor's ivory tower, and no matter how many papers
in prestigious journals he had published that were based on its output.

This won me no brownie points whatsoever. 8-)

-- 
Bill Findlay
with blueyonder.co.uk;
use  surname & forename;