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From: Simon Clubley <clubley@remove_me.eisner.decus.org-Earth.UFP>
Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada
Subject: Re: Online conceptual/tutorial material for Ada, was: Re:
 specification file ads problem
Date: Mon, 6 Oct 2014 22:30:14 +0000 (UTC)
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Date: 2014-10-06T22:30:14+00:00
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On 2014-10-06, G.B. <bauhaus@futureapps.invalid> wrote:
> On 06.10.14 13:08, Peter Chapin wrote:
>> On 2014-10-06 03:55, Simon Wright wrote:
>>
>>>> I wrote this some time ago
>>>>
>>>> 	http://web.vtc.edu/users/pcc09070/Ada/AdaCrash.pdf
>>>>
>>>> but it's incomplete and in need of updating/editing.

This is the kind of thing I am thinking of (with one reservation in
what I have read of it).

>>>
>>> I'd have thought it a good first read. But I'm not a newbie.
>>>

And not being a newbit is a potential problem. The stupid little things
which trip you up in the first few days of learning a new language
rapidly become common knowledge (to you) and after a while you might not
even remember those early problems.

>>> It's (now) possible to get Libre Office to use hyperlinks in the ToC,
>>> which would be a help for the reader ...
>>
>> That's good to know, thanks. I'll look into that if/when I get around to
>> finishing it up.
>
> Would there possibly be some way of introducing Ada's user defined
> scalar types earlier?  This would give credit to McCormick's most
> prominent finding, namely that use of Ada's user defined scalars
> is a real, non-marketing boost in productivity. In particular, this
> feature of the Ada language has been found to boost newcomers' results.
>

And _that's_ the same reservation I have.

Ada style user defined datatypes need to be much closer to the start
of the document. However, I also understand the need not to overwhelm
the reader with new things.

How about early examples which show just _one_ of the really simple
types J-P Rosen mentions and uses (say) Integer for the rest of the
example ?

That way you give the reader an example they can mostly compare directly
to other languages such as C, but you have also planted in their mind
the idea of Ada style user defined datatypes.

Simon.

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