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-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,971aa11c293c3db1 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2001-07-21 08:31:50 PST Path: archiver1.google.com!newsfeed.google.com!newsfeed.stanford.edu!nntp.cs.ubc.ca!newsfeed.direct.ca!look.ca!newshub2.rdc1.sfba.home.com!news.home.com!news1.sttls1.wa.home.com.POSTED!not-for-mail From: "Mark Lundquist" Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada References: <5be89e2f.0107170838.c71ad61@posting.google.com> Subject: Re: Ada The Best Language? X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.50.4133.2400 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.50.4133.2400 Message-ID: Date: Sat, 21 Jul 2001 15:31:49 GMT NNTP-Posting-Host: 24.248.56.237 X-Complaints-To: abuse@home.net X-Trace: news1.sttls1.wa.home.com 995729509 24.248.56.237 (Sat, 21 Jul 2001 08:31:49 PDT) NNTP-Posting-Date: Sat, 21 Jul 2001 08:31:49 PDT Organization: Excite@Home - The Leader in Broadband http://home.com/faster Xref: archiver1.google.com comp.lang.ada:10397 Date: 2001-07-21T15:31:49+00:00 List-Id: "codesavvy" wrote in message news:5be89e2f.0107170838.c71ad61@posting.google.com... > How come it is not more widely accepted? That is a very good question. The simple answer -- a truism really -- is that for most decision-makers, the perceived costs are not overcome by the perceived benefits. So if we suppose for the sake of argument that the Ada advocates are right, then Ada is not more widely accepted because (a) the marginal cost of choosing Ada over the alternatives are supposed to be higher than the true marginal cost; and/or (b) the benefits of using Ada are not sufficiently understood or appreciated. The way this actually plays out is pretty complex and gets into a lot of history. But I think at the core, it's a "critical mass" phenomenon (of which "self-fulfilling prophecies" represent a case). For a thorough treatment of thos concept, I highly recommend Thomas C. Schelling's book, "Micromotives and Macrobehavior", and especially chapter 3, "Thermostats, lemons, and other families of models". If I perceive that few others are choosing Language X, then I will tend to believe that choosing Language X will place me at a disadvantage. Everyone else is thinking the same way. As a result, adoption and retention of Language X declines. It takes a high level of perceived value to overcome this (as indeed it has done for those who are choosing Ada). > The stuff I read here states > that it is because the rest of the world is stupid. You might see that here sometimes. Mostly it's hyperbole, and some posters here are more given to that than others. You'll also see it in combination with anti-Microsuck^H^H^Hoft ranting (sorry! :-). I think most participants in this ng would say that "the rest of the world" is simply wrong, not necessarily stupid. Incidentally, the level of one-true-languagism expressed on this ng seems to have gone down over the past year or two. Here you can find Ada fans who are also fans of Eiffel, OCAML, Haskell, Ruby, and other languages. > From what I can > tell there is plenty of crappy code written in Ada. Definitely true. There's plenty of crap written in every language, and will be in every language that has yet to be invented. But this is hardly relevant, don't you think? I've never seen anyone say that code written in any particular language can be considered good, solely by virtue of its having been written in that language. > I think many who > share the view that Ada is the best programming language offering > significant advantages over other programming language might want to > re-think their positions. OK, I think Ada's the best, but I'm willing to re-think my position. But since it's a thoughtfully held position in the first place, I will probably need some help -- are you willing to provide it? -- mark