Re: How Would a Hobbyist Learn Ada?

["jdpetrey<REMOVE_TO_REPLY>"@raytheon.com]

I first looked at Ada seriously back in 1989 when I was working for a company 
doing a missile test set which was programmed in Forth.  They ask me to look 
at some new language options since Forth was considered a rather obscure 
language (even though it did a great job for what we were doing).  I had been 
aware of Ada�s development so I looked at it.  After reading �Ada: An Advanced 
Introduction� by Narain Gehani and getting a hold of an early MS-DOS compiler 
from RR-Software (thanks, Randy!), I was hooked!  We didn�t make the switch on 
that project but every job since then has been in Ada and I have never looked 
back.  Ada has been very rewarding to me, both financially and in knowing that 
I have created quality engineered products for safety and mission critical 
applications.  Ada is also my first choice for hobby projects or quick 
prototyping of new ideas.  I use it often to create Windows GUI-based hardware 
simulators that communicate over a serial port to other hardware devices.  I 
know Ada is declining in use now but I hope enough younger engineers discover 
the elegance and beauty of it as I did and keep it alive.


-- 
Jerry