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From: Simon Clubley <clubley@remove_me.eisner.decus.org-Earth.UFP>
Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada
Subject: Re: 4 beginner's questions on the PL Ada
Date: Sat, 10 Aug 2013 23:15:05 +0000 (UTC)
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On 2013-08-10, Emanuel Berg <embe8573@student.uu.se> wrote:
> Shark8 <onewingedshark@gmail.com> 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.

Simon.

-- 
Simon Clubley, clubley@remove_me.eisner.decus.org-Earth.UFP
Microsoft: Bringing you 1980s technology to a 21st century world