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=-1.9 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,FREEMAIL_FROM autolearn=unavailable autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Received: by 10.224.7.7 with SMTP id b7mr330462qab.5.1376330876825; Mon, 12 Aug 2013 11:07:56 -0700 (PDT) X-Received: by 10.50.77.105 with SMTP id r9mr11522igw.13.1376330876771; Mon, 12 Aug 2013 11:07:56 -0700 (PDT) Path: border1.nntp.dca3.giganews.com!border2.nntp.dca3.giganews.com!border4.nntp.dca.giganews.com!border2.nntp.dca.giganews.com!nntp.giganews.com!usenet.blueworldhosting.com!feeder02.blueworldhosting.com!npeer01.iad.highwinds-media.com!news.highwinds-media.com!feed-me.highwinds-media.com!f7no2055039qan.0!news-out.google.com!he10ni1415qab.0!nntp.google.com!fx3no2153572qab.0!postnews.google.com!glegroupsg2000goo.googlegroups.com!not-for-mail Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Date: Mon, 12 Aug 2013 11:07:56 -0700 (PDT) In-Reply-To: Complaints-To: groups-abuse@google.com Injection-Info: glegroupsg2000goo.googlegroups.com; posting-host=66.126.103.122; posting-account=RxNzCgoAAACA5KmgtFQuaU-WaH7rjnAO NNTP-Posting-Host: 66.126.103.122 References: <87ob96ajv6.fsf@VLAN-3434.student.uu.se> <877gfucton.fsf@VLAN-3434.student.uu.se> <87pptmb4p9.fsf@VLAN-3434.student.uu.se> <88cb99c6-df8b-49f8-ac53-54b737a02c34@googlegroups.com> <87eha1787k.fsf@VLAN-3434.student.uu.se> User-Agent: G2/1.0 MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-ID: Subject: Re: 4 beginner's questions on the PL Ada From: Adam Beneschan Injection-Date: Mon, 12 Aug 2013 18:07:56 +0000 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-Received-Bytes: 3126 X-Original-Bytes: 3421 Xref: number.nntp.dca.giganews.com comp.lang.ada:182988 Date: 2013-08-12T11:07:56-07:00 List-Id: On Saturday, August 10, 2013 4:15:05 PM UTC-7, Simon Clubley wrote: > On 2013-08-10, Emanuel Berg wrote: >=20 > > Shark8 writes: >=20 > > >=20 > >> There's a *huge* problem with this: superficial understanding. > >> This problem can lead to extremely bad code adopted as "best > >> practice"/"standard practice". >=20 > > 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. >=20 > 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 ? >=20 > 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 jus= t by reading the rules without needing too many examples. But I don't real= ly think of myself as "normal" in this regard. Others do better by startin= g with examples and filling in details later. Please, let's respect our di= fferences here. =20 -- Adam