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=-1.3 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,INVALID_MSGID autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,2702c1ed8be62863 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public From: to.reply@read.my.sig (Rick Thorne) Subject: Re: What ada 83 compiler is *best* Date: 1998/12/08 Message-ID: #1/1 X-Deja-AN: 420073841 References: <3666F5A4.2CCF6592@maths.unine.ch> <74hk55$6t5$1@remarQ.com> Organization: Some, but limited Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Date: 1998-12-08T00:00:00+00:00 List-Id: In article <74hk55$6t5$1@remarQ.com>, "Pat Rogers" wrote: > Rick Thorne wrote in message ... > > >Ever wonder why the > >Ada Initiative was dropped by the DoD? The reason is somple: Ada > code > >isn't any less expensive, buggy, slow, or difficult to read than > anyone > >ELSE's code. > > Simply false. See hard facts at: > > http://www.adaresource.org/docs/present/ajpo/pll-cost/html/ > > http://www.adaresource.org/docs/reports/cada/cada_art.html Personally, I think it's cute when someone touts an advocacy web page as "hard fact." This is like Ralph Reed calling the 0.5% of the American population who are members of the Christian Coalition "the mainstream", or the tobacco industry reports refuting the link between smoking and lung cancer. Honestly, Pat, this kind of logical fallacy is more appropriate in alt.aliens.visitors. I've seen these reports, and I've seen others as well. I remain unconvinced, and I remain so simply because I've seen the disasters in plain ol' crappy Ada coding. Fine - Ada's easier to read than C++ (tho not as easy to read as Java, in my opinion). Fine, Ada has a "true" standard. Fine, Ada's the programming language of choice in Sweden. As a veteran in BOTH Ada and C++/Java, I can tell you I've seen ugliness in both, and beauty in both, and I remain utterly unconvinced that Ada has enough advantages over ANY major language technology to emerge as anything but a declining has-been. You're doing well in Ada, are you? Good for you. Your market is shrinking in the US - like it or not. I'm doing great in C++/Java myself, and my market's growing - like it or not. I hope we both enjoy a happy, early retirement. I truly do. I'll quote Fredrick Brooks again: "Ada is just a programming language." It doesn't fix the central problems in the software engineering crisis: requirements definition and software architecture and design. As such, I'm still waiting for a convincing argument to make Ada part of my future. Ain't heard one yet! -- ? Rick Thorne ? "I'm quite illiterate, ? ? software engineer by day ? but I read a lot" ? ? harried father of two by night ? J. D. Salinger ? ? rick.thorne@lmco.com ? ? ? http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Oracle/6816/ ?