Re: New IEEE Language Popularity Ratings

[Norman Worth <nworth@comcastNOSPAM.net>]

On 7/28/2016 9:05 AM, Alejandro R. Mosteo wrote:
> On 28/07/16 16:58, brbarkstrom@gmail.com wrote:
>> http://spectrum.ieee.org/static/interactive-the-top-programming-languages-2016
>>
>
> You beat me to the punch!
>
>>
>> has a 2016 ranking of languages.  Top two are C, followed by Java.  Ada
>> is down near the bottom of the list, but at least it's slightly more
>> popular than COBOL and FORTH.
>
> Well, it depends on the raking criterion :D COBOL is both trendier and
> with better job perspectives X(
>
> Alex.
>
>>
>> Bruce B.
>>
>
Job preservation, and job availability, are key.  Despite its 
advantages, there is not much being done in Ada, especially in the US. 
Europe is a bit better, but still declining. Even in the mission 
critical defense area, Ada has fallen out of use.  This has been costly 
in terms of maintenance and reliability, but contractors feel they can 
not use Ada for personnel reasons.  Also, they often do not want to use 
Ada because of a perceived lack of tools.  That situation is not as bad 
as it used to be, but tools are still behind those available for C/C++, 
and the available tools are relatively unknown.  GUI and database 
interfaces are also big issues.

When I mention doing something in Ada, my very experienced peers 
shudder.  They have never been trained in the language, and they dread 
it.  Their perception is that Ada is a very large, extremely difficult 
language with an impossible learning curve.  They also feel it would be 
difficult to read, understand, and maintain.  The battle reminds me a 
bit of the Algol vs. FORTRAN battles in the 1970s.