Pitfalls of Java
2008-01-08 10:03:31.068773+00 by
meuon
12 comments
http://www.stsc.hill.af.mil/Cr.../2008/01/0801DewarSchonberg.html
"The irresistible beauty of programming consists in the reduction of complex formal processes to a very small set of primitive operations. Java, instead of exposing this beauty, encourages the programmer to approach problem-solving like a plumber in a hardware store: by rummaging through a multitude of drawers (i.e. packages) we will end up finding some gadget (i.e. class) that does roughly what we want."
I'm not even a "real" programmer, and I understand the issues he's talking about. Per the article:
"A Real Programmer Can Write in Any Language (C, Java, Lisp, Ada)"
But this one might be debatable:
"Ada is the language of software engineering par excellence."
I've known (biblically :) ADA coders working for the Gov. and they just aren't necessarily that bright or that much better. So far, people whom grasp C have impressed me the most.
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comments in ascending chronological order (reverse):
#Comment Re: made: 2008-01-08 14:23:55.682955+00 by:
JT
[edit history]
The article was written by the president and vice-president of AdaCore. Did you expect them to say another language was better, like C? I think this is along one of those articles you have to take with a grain of salt. It's written for the military to show their people that the language they're using is a viable marketable language and written by the people who own the rights to this flawed language. I'd say this article does exactly what it's supposed to do.
I particularly like this reasoning behind what Ada is a better language...
This is because the notions of strong typing, encapsulation, information hiding, concurrency, generic programming, inheritance, and so on, are embodied in specific features of the language.
Because no private organization outside the military wants anything more than hiding their information from their programmers.
#Comment Re: made: 2008-01-08 14:45:52.636165+00 by:
meuon
They are good reasons, and Ada seems to do it well from looking over a few shoulders. It's over my head, I'm a simple web/database guy. Sure, once upon a time I did some Z80 assembly, hacked/modded C driver code for a DS3 interface card and an early fiber channel card for Linux, and modded an existing simple C dialer for pagers into something commercially viable, but in reality, I'm a plumber. But I know I'm a plumber.
#Comment Re: made: 2008-01-08 16:16:44.23377+00 by:
JT
Don't get me wrong, besides your story, the only thing I've ever heard about Ada was from two naval and one AF coder who talked about how it was a great language for the military, but nothing else. From their description, it reminded me of the Monty Python's "funniest joke in the world" skit where there were teams of people working on translations in tiny parts so no one would hear the whole joke and die laughing. It seems to be a language which excels at just that, allowing people to write small parts of one program within specific specifications.
Of course, dealing with a few subcontracted Indian countries who've previously written code and/or courses, I'm sure the flaws in that system are blazingly apparent outside of "national secret" level military uses.
btw... if you're a plumber, I barely skate by being a plumber's assistant.
You wanted which wrench out of the box again?
#Comment Re: made: 2008-01-08 20:26:37.654455+00 by:
polly
just remember to keep your pants pulled up in the back...nothing worse than a plumber's butt hanging out the back of his pants!
#Comment Re: made: 2008-01-08 20:43:14.949996+00 by:
meuon
Pants?
#Comment Re: made: 2008-01-08 21:08:40.389424+00 by:
Nancy
Polly, remember, these are geeks. You have to be WAAAY more obvious.
Maybe if you'd prefaced it with: If you're going to be a 'PLUMBER' .....
I got it, though. ;-)
#Comment Re: made: 2008-01-08 21:10:07.885887+00 by:
Nancy
oops... Meuon gigged me again..
If only he were MORE obvious.
[egg on face]
yea, what pants??
[did I mention egg on face!?!?]
Can I crawl away and watch a Princess movie now, please?
#Comment Re: made: 2008-01-08 21:28:26.744562+00 by:
meuon
Hmm.. we might be able to find a "Princess Movie"? You know what I like from Princesses?
#Comment Re: made: 2008-01-08 21:52:48.67112+00 by:
Nancy
oh, God, do I have to put the dress on again?
#Comment Re: made: 2008-01-08 22:01:29.954226+00 by:
Dan Lyke
I wanna see you in the tiara.
#Comment Re: made: 2008-01-08 23:08:43.010349+00 by:
JT
Just the tiara?
#Comment Re: made: 2008-01-09 00:19:27.44519+00 by:
topspin
Insert obligatory "magic wand" comment here.
I don't think this forum appropriate for the "I love a woman with the family jewels on her head" comment I thought of first.