Re: += in ada

["Alexandre E. Kopilovitch" <aek@vib.usr.pu.ru>]

Russ wrote:

> As I said before, I am not a professional programmer or computer
> scientist. I am aerospace engineer working on future concepts for
> safety critical air traffic management systems 20 years in the future.
> I would like to think that Ada will be an option when the time comes
> to implement my concepts, but I am losing hope.

I really can't guess why you, being an experienced professional in one field,
are disputing a strong and coherent opinion of other professionals on their
territory?

Note that, after all, there are quite influental persons in Ada world -
compiler vendors, for example - whose current business (and not some hopes
for the indefinite future) heavily depends (or even is based) on Ada, and
therefore they are quite concerned with survival of Ada. Do you think than
they are all blind? That they, with all their experience (note also, that
they are usually linked to C one or another way, so they surely are aware of
augmented assignments) and *current* customer base just don't pay attention
to a customer's need? 

> Because my formal training is not in programming or computer science,
> I have restricted my comments on Ada to relatively low-level aspects
> of the language. I don't consider myself qualified to comment on more
> complicated issues. However, judging by my experience here, I am
> losing faith in the Ada community.

I just wonder from where your past faith in Ada community was originated.
What was changed dramatically since that?

> If you can't get the little things right,

Once more, how can you - not professional programmer, as you said yourself - 
be so sure that you know what is right in those little programming things?
So sure that you are trying to press your opinion against a bunch of professional
programmers with very solid experience?

> how in the world can you can the complicated things right?

Simple enough - just look at those complicated things that were already done
recently. Some of them are quite impressive, even in conference articles.



Alexander Kopilovitch                      aek@vib.usr.pu.ru
Saint-Petersburg
Russia