Re: 4 beginner's questions on the PL Ada

[Adam Beneschan <adambeneschan@aol.com>]

On Saturday, August 10, 2013 4:15:05 PM UTC-7, Simon Clubley wrote:
> On 2013-08-10, Emanuel Berg wrote:
> 
> > Shark8 writes:
> 
> >
> 
> >> There's a *huge* problem with this: superficial understanding.
> >> This problem can lead to extremely bad code adopted as "best
> >> practice"/"standard practice".
> 
> > There is nothing superficial about code. Code *is* programming.
>
> Code explains _what_ is being done but it does not explain _why_ it
> is being done in this way.
> 
> Would you rather implement, say, a communications protocol by looking
> at a existing implementation only, or would you rather work from a
> design specification which will include the background and overview
> as well as explain the reason for why certain things are done in the
> way they are ?
> 
> If you look at the code only, you only gain a superficial understanding
> of how the protocol is implemented and can end up falling into a
> cargo cult mentality. If you work from the design specification, you
> gain a far deeper understanding of what is going on.

Before we keep this argument up too long, I think we need to step back and acknowledge that people's brains are wired differently, and that different people learn things in different ways.  I definitely need to know the exact rules for things early on; and I usually understand things well enough just by reading the rules without needing too many examples.  But I don't really think of myself as "normal" in this regard.  Others do better by starting with examples and filling in details later.  Please, let's respect our differences here.  

                                 -- Adam