Re: _Type vs no _Type

[Robert A Duff <bobduff@shell01.TheWorld.com>]

Jeffrey Carter <spam.jrcarter.not@spam.not.acm.org> writes:

> On 11/05/2010 04:09 PM, Robert A Duff wrote:
>> Jeffrey Carter<spam.jrcarter.not@spam.not.acm.org>  writes:
>>
>>> ...Ada is a S/W-engineering
>>> language, and most developers are not S/W engineers.
>>
>> Well, maybe, but how many people will be attracted to
>> Ada by sneering at them for being less than true
>> engineers?
>
> I don't want to attract coders to Ada.

I reject your dichotomy -- S/W engineers vs. mere coders.
There's certainly a wide spectrum of competence among
programmers (why, at least half of them are below average!),
but many of whom you disparagingly call "coders" are educable.

Anyway, the more people who use a given language the
better for that language (more money to make compilers,
better compilers, more widely available for obscure
machines, more textbooks...).  That goes for incompetent
programmers just as much as the ones you prefer to call
"engineers".

By the way, one of my profs in college (Bill Wulf, maybe?)
said something about how engineering is a way to allow
mediocre people to do good work.  There's some truth in
that, but it also allows the best people to do even
better work.

>> P.S. My grandfather was a "true" engineer.  He drove a train.
>> He worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad.  ;-)
>
> Cool. Do you try to buy that when you play Monopoly?

I haven't played Monopoly in years, but yeah, I'm happy
to buy Penn RR for $200.00.  ;-)

- Bob