Re: What is wrong with Ada?

[<adaworks@sbcglobal.net>]

"Markus E Leypold" <development-2006-8ecbb5cc8aREMOVETHIS@ANDTHATm-e-leypold.de> 
wrote in message news:r14pn9g6fo.fsf@hod.lan.m-e-leypold.de...
>
> Simon Wright <simon.j.wright@mac.com> writes:
>
>> <adaworks@sbcglobal.net> writes:
>>
>>> For example, if we know that a certain programmer always makes
>>> mistakes of a certain kind, we can focus more testing on his
>>> programs.
>>
>> Better perhaps to focus more review on the programs and more training
>> on the programmer!
>
> Absolutely. I'd be cautious with singling out individual
> programmers.
>
Not really.   We need to do exactly that so there is
an increased level of accountability.   We do that for
every other kind of job, including other engineers.

>Whereas it's perhaps a good idea to have some kind of
> measures in place for people who always produce fatal mistakes
> (e.g. "wouldn't you be hapier with ..."), I'd be wary to publish
> programmer ratings or make it too well known that such a process
> exists.
Rating systems are not a bad thing.  Also, it is not just about those
who always produce fatal mistakes.   Rather, it is recognition that
different members of the team have different levels of skill, not only
with regard to programming, but in other things as well.

The best of programmers are not necessarily the best in everything
else.  And laying down code is only a small part of the software development
process.

> Such things have a tendency to end in witch hunts and being
> abused in infights. In another part of this thread someone mentioned
> that programmers shouldn't put their "ego in their code". Actually
> they have some stake in their code anyway and if ranking programmers
> on code quality is too much emphasized the programmers will find their
> career dependent on their code quality
>
And that is a bad thing because ... ?

> That will give them a really
> strong incentive to camouflage what really happens and make mistakes
> look like other peoples mistake or argue that they are other peoples
> mistakes. The organisation will get bogged down in a lot of "ass
> covering" and infighting.
>
Any programmer who resorts to this kind of deception needs to be
fired, and quickly.   We all make mistakes.  We need to own up to
those mistakes.   I am more inclined to fire a programmer who tries
to blame others than one who acknowledges a mistake and works
on correcting it.
>
We all know how hard it is to get programs right.   We need to work
together to make that happen.   When some member of the team gets
sneaky about this, we want him/her gone as soon as possible.
>
When we discover a weakness in one of the team members, we can make
an effort to correct it.   The reality is that every team member has some
weaknesses.  The trick is to identify the weaknesses and strengths and
assign work accordingly.   But accountability is an essential part of any
team project.   Without it, no one is safe.   Without it, no project can
be assured of the desired quality.

Richard Riehle