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=-2.9 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,MAILING_LIST_MULTI autolearn=unavailable autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Thread: 103376,21960280f1d61e84 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit Return-Path: To: comp.lang.ada@ada-france.org References: <5WDth.1154953$084.602591@attbi_s22> In-Reply-To: <5WDth.1154953$084.602591@attbi_s22>; from "Jeffrey R. Carter" at Wed, 24 Jan 2007 07:30:10 GMT Organization: 100 From: "Alexander E. Kopilovich" Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2007 23:15:33 +0300 (MSK) X-Mailer: Mail/@ [v2.45 MSDOS] Subject: Re: How come Ada isn't more popular? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii X-Virus-Scanned: amavisd-new at ada-france.org X-BeenThere: comp.lang.ada@ada-france.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.9rc1 Precedence: list List-Id: "Gateway to the comp.lang.ada Usenet newsgroup" List-Unsubscribe: , List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Message-ID: content-transfer-encoding: 7bit X-Original-Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Leafnode-NNTP-Posting-Host: 88.191.17.134 NNTP-Posting-Date: 24 Jan 2007 21:20:02 MET NNTP-Posting-Host: 88.191.14.223 X-Trace: 1169670002 news-2.free.fr 31441 88.191.14.223:40160 X-Complaints-To: abuse@proxad.net Path: g2news2.google.com!news1.google.com!news.germany.com!news.ecp.fr!feed.ac-versailles.fr!proxad.net!cleanfeed1-b.proxad.net!nnrp8-1.free.fr!not-for-mail Xref: g2news2.google.com comp.lang.ada:8509 Date: 2007-01-24T21:20:02+01:00 Jeffrey R. Carter wrote: >> By the way, I think that the referenced (by above URL) article does not >> contradict the apparently contested (under-marked) sentence, because >> circumstances are far too different in several important aspects. > >Could you elaborate? It seemed pretty close to a controlled experiment >to me. The students were not specially selected; the problem was the >same; only the language and amount of solution made available to the >students changed. The original statement (from kevin cline) was: >>> What makes a programmer >>> like a new language? Usually, someone comes along and says something >>> like "Remember that program that we spent two weeks writing in C? >>> Here's a Perl implementation that I put together in three hours and >>> one-tenth the code." That's never happened with Ada. The article http://www.stsc.hill.af.mil/crosstalk/2000/08/mccormick.html presents the case where use of Ada language in very specific circumstances was much more effective than use of C language in the same circumstances. Those circumstances include: 1) close support provided by teaching staff 2) full and precise spefications for the problem domain 3) stable general requirements for the task and at the same time relative freedom regarding details, and anyway, the absence of a stream of unexpected changes in requirements and/or scope and/or additional requirements Compare these circumstances with those implied in the original statement (quoted above). The latter certainly imply absence of condition 1 (permanent close support), and also, the freedom of choice of a programming language (or even an opportunity of discussion about that) very rarely comes to programmers together with conditions 2 and 3.