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=0.6 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,TO_NO_BRKTS_FROM_MSSP autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,7ee10ec601726fbf X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2001-10-12 07:10:22 PST Path: archiver1.google.com!news1.google.com!sn-xit-02!supernews.com!newsfeed.direct.ca!look.ca!news.maxwell.syr.edu!feed1.uncensored-news.com!propagator-la!news-in-la.newsfeeds.com!news-in.superfeed.net!newsranger.com!www.newsranger.com!not-for-mail Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada From: Ted Dennison References: <3BC30674.BA88AAB6@brighton.ac.uk> <9pvv3t$ves$1@news.huji.ac.il> <3BC5D730.DA950CC7@boeing.com> <9q4pa7$1ad$1@nh.pace.co.uk> <3BC6ACC8.23EF21BC@free.fr> Subject: Re: why not Message-ID: X-Abuse-Info: When contacting newsranger.com regarding abuse please X-Abuse-Info: forward the entire news article including headers or X-Abuse-Info: else we will not be able to process your request X-Complaints-To: abuse@newsranger.com NNTP-Posting-Date: Fri, 12 Oct 2001 10:09:52 EDT Organization: http://www.newsranger.com Date: Fri, 12 Oct 2001 14:09:52 GMT Xref: archiver1.google.com comp.lang.ada:14403 Date: 2001-10-12T14:09:52+00:00 List-Id: In article <3BC6ACC8.23EF21BC@free.fr>, Jean-Marc Bourguet says... > >Lutz Donnerhacke wrote: >> OTOH most of programmers I spoke to do not like the fairly adaptable >> libraries because they are confused by the huge amount of options. So the >> recode there own libs, because they are faster to develop and verify them, >> than understanding the library. Of course, that's just another instance of >> the Not Invented Here Syndom, the most common open source disease. > >If redevelopping something else is quicker (especially when you include >the verification as you do) than using a library, that's a sure sign >that >the library is not targetted to your problem, not an occurence of NIHS. >You have this syndrom when you redevelop something and that takes more >ressource than reusing something else. Well, its not *quite* that. Its just that a simple list is fairly easy to code and test (perhaps 6 hours or so). The result should be fairly fast too, as it won't have any more capability than you need. On the other side, it takes a fair bit of study to figure out how to properly instantiate a Booch component. It isn't a simple generic. You have to find the proper package first, which involves deciphering the naming scheme, and the package hierarchy. That can take two hours or more for the uninitiated. Then you have to figure out that you have to instantiate a grandparent package, then take that instantiation and use it to instantiate a the parent package, then take that instantiation and use it to instantiate a child. This isn't something most Ada programmers regularly have to deal with, and it can be quite confusing first. Most beginners waste lots of time trying to instantiate the child generics from the generic package instead of from the instantiation of it. To make matters worse, there are sometimes other generics you are supposed to instantiate so that you can use them as parameters into other generic instantiations. To top it all off, you may *still* need to test the result to make sure it does what you need it to do. On the plus side, once you figure this mess out, it will be *way* quiker to do it a second time. So its really an issue of if you want to invest a bit extra time up front thwacking your head against a wall figuring out Booch, in order to be able to save yourself extra time the *next* time you need a component. --- T.E.D. homepage - http://www.telepath.com/dennison/Ted/TED.html No trees were killed in the sending of this message. However a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced.