From: Duke Normandin on
On 2010-05-24, Luis Espinal <Luis_member(a)newsguy.com> wrote:
> In article <7GwJn.4712$z%6.3258(a)edtnps83>, Duke Normandin says...
>>
>>Thanks for the URLs! I visited
>>http://distrinet.cs.kuleuven.be/events/AdaEvent/abstracts.html#researchada
>>
>>To begin with. Looks like I should be learning SPARK? or should I start with
>>Ada, _then_ graduate to SPARK?
>
>
> I think you should learn either (SPARK or Ada), or maybe both (probably this is
> what you should do). In that case, I'd go with Ada first.
>
> I took an Ada class on my 3rd year at university, and from then one, it was my
> tool of choice (along with C++). I graduated, looked for Ada jobs, and could not
> find much. I went to grad school all the while still looking for Ada jobs.
> Eventually I settle to work with C++, and then with Java.
>
> I've been programming in Java for 11 years - 15 if I count the playing-around I
> did with it since it came up in 95. And now, finally I might be able to get a
> chance to work in C/C++.
>
> Still, every once in a while I search for Ada jobs. I keep seeing an opening for
> a Sr. Ada programmer to assist in a conversion to C++. Plus I keep seeing that
> people require X amount of years on Ada or C++ when hiring, so it is a
> chicken-n-egg kind of thing.
>
> Putting all that lamentation aside, and the fact that I've never worked with it,
> I'd say that it is the most influential language I've had (with the Pascal
> family of languages.)
>
> Ever since I learned it, all other languages have felt a bit lacking when it
> comes to develop software that is both 1) efficient and 2) looks and reads
> correct. I think I'm a good software developer and engineer, and I honestly
> don't think my skills would be as good as I think they are if it weren't because
> of Ada.
>
> Learning Ada is how I learned how to program correctly. This is strictly
> anecdotal and personal, so take it with a grain of salt. But my suggestion will
> be to learn Ada for the sake of it in the hope it will improve your skills and
> craft, however good they are now.
>
> If you happen to land a job in Ada, that will be an added bonus. Learning the
> language and solving non-trivial problems with them, that's all the
> justification one should need IMO.
>
> Good luck.
>
> - Luis Espinal.
>

Thank you Luis, for your insights. I can't help but feel sad and irritated
that a language as useful as Ada has been characterized to be, by you and
others, should not be more widely appreciated and used. I'm glad that I
don't _have to_ program for a living. I do it because I enjoy it - got the
bug in 1980. ;) BTW, do you know what language Ada is written in? I'd guess
C and asm.
--
Duke
*** Tolerance becomes a crime, when applied to evil [Thomas Mann] ***

From: Jeffrey R. Carter on
Bryan wrote:
>
> C++ has kept me employed and working on interesting projects. :)

New Chinese proverb? "May you work on interesting projects."

--
Jeff Carter
"You can never forget too much about C++."
115
From: Yannick Duchêne (Hibou57) on
Le Mon, 24 May 2010 21:34:24 +0200, Duke Normandin <dukeofperl(a)ml1.net> a
écrit:
> bug in 1980. ;) BTW, do you know what language Ada is written in? I'd
> guess
> C and asm.
Ada could not be written in C or asm, it is written in plain English. It
was not translated because there are some much pages in the reference that
every one ws afraid (just think about translating it into french...)

I stop to play the fool now :p

Ada compilers, could be written in C or asm ;) But Ada compilers are
mostly written in ... Ada, of course. Just look at GNAT sources (big) to
have an idea. There may be some tiny C stuff in GNAT Ada implementation or
a bit of assembly in Janus Ada implementation, however, all are mostly
written in Ada.

--
There is even better than a pragma Assert: a SPARK --# check.
From: John B. Matthews on
In article <op.vc77ejooxmjfy8(a)garhos>,
Yannick Duchêne (Hibou57) <yannick_duchene(a)yahoo.fr> wrote:

> Le Mon, 24 May 2010 21:34:24 +0200, Duke Normandin <dukeofperl(a)ml1.net> a
> écrit:
> > BTW, do you know what language Ada is written in? I'd guess C and
> > asm.
> [...]
> Ada compilers, could be written in C or asm ;) But Ada compilers are
> mostly written in ... Ada, of course. Just look at GNAT sources (big) to
> have an idea.

Good reading! :-)

<http://gcc.gnu.org/viewcvs/trunk/gcc/ada/>

[...]
--
John B. Matthews
trashgod at gmail dot com
<http://sites.google.com/site/drjohnbmatthews>
From: Jeffrey R. Carter on
Yannick Duch�ne (Hibou57) wrote:
>
> Ada compilers, could be written in C or asm ;) But Ada compilers are
> mostly written in ... Ada, of course. Just look at GNAT sources (big) to
> have an idea. There may be some tiny C stuff in GNAT Ada implementation
> or a bit of assembly in Janus Ada implementation, however, all are
> mostly written in Ada.

The Verdix compiler was started in C and later changed to Ada. This is where the
comparison in http://www.adaic.org/whyada/ada-vs-c/cada_art.html comes from, one
of the few hard data points in language comparisons.

--
Jeff Carter
"You can never forget too much about C++."
115