Re: What is wrong with Ada?

[Markus E Leypold <development-2006-8ecbb5cc8aREMOVETHIS@ANDTHATm-e-leypold.de>]

Pascal Obry <pascal@obry.net> writes:

> Jeffrey R. Carter a �crit :
>
>> Nothing is wrong with Ada. It is a language for SW engineers. Since 98%
>> of SW developers are coders, not SW engineers, 98% prefer languages for
>> coders.
>
> Agreed 100%.

I don't. It's the attidute that is off-putting and gives software
engineering a bad name.

> Another way to put it, let me ask : What's wrong with
> developers ? Why do they like unsafe languages ? 

I think I already answered that. Still, on c.l.a, the myth persists
that "developers like unsafe languages". In actual reality it's the
other way round: For one reason or other -- as I explained often
enough, not related to technical merits of the languages in question
-- people like other languages, they just happen to be "unsafe".

(And even that might be questioned, since the big contenders at large
are (probably in that order) Excel, Php, Perl, Python and not only C
... -- Excel and the 3 Ps are not unsafe in the same sense as C/C++
are).


> Why do they like fighting a language all the time?

Well -- difficult to say: Why _are_ there language wars at c.l.a all
the time? Why does the Ada folks like to fight Java and C++? Somebody
here should be in the position to answer that question.

> Why do they like unreadable code?

> Why do they like to play with a debugger ? 

Good question. That "real Ada software engineers" (like "real men")
never need a debugger might be the reason why gdb is so badly
integrated with Gnat. That's a thought. 

BTW, the OP asked, I think, what is wrong with Ada. Just now I
remember: For one thing, the gdb <=> gnat integration.

> Why do they like to play Sherlock Holmes during hours to look for a
> bug?

Strange. That would mean, Ada programs have no bugs. That is indeed
new to me. And believe me, the conceptual bugs (as opposed to type
system violations) are the bugs that are harder to discover and to
debug -- and for those a well integrated debugger is really useful
when they occur.

> Here are the real
> questions to me, again nothing wrong with Ada to me !

Pascal, you're person which a proven track record and a good standing
in the Ada community (whereas I'm probably better known as a constant
complainer, but hope that I have my reasons). But THIS post is
absolute nonsense and not worthy to yourself.

I'm not so young myself but I dislike it, when people (metaphorically)
lean back in their rocking chairs and start (metaphorically)
complaining about the youth of today and how everything was better at
their time.

Regards -- Markus