Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!samsung!uunet!igor!rutabaga!jls From: jls@rutabaga.Rational.COM (Jim Showalter) Newsgroups: comp.object Subject: Re: Readability of Ada Message-ID: Date: 23 Apr 91 22:23:48 GMT References: Sender: news@Rational.COM Distribution: comp Lines: 27 >It would be foolish to program for the reading level of the novice >programmer Not really. The vast majority of work on software that goes on (like, about 70%) is MAINTENANCE. This is often performed by underpaid, underskilled, and overwhelmed junior programmers, many of whom are unfamiliar with the original design, weren't around when "clever" decisions were initially made, etc. To NOT program from the outset with an eye toward making the job easier for the downstream maintainer is criminal. >Frankly, I didn't find the Ada particularly readable -- it was too large >to fit on one screen and I lost interest in the exercise. The C code >(once it was formatted and its variables made more useful) was small >enough to be seen in its entirety, allowing the eye to follow >interpretive explorations easily and quickly. Uh huh. And did you catch the bugs? Note also that, in attempting to respond to my challenge, the submitted C code was in one case three times as lengthy as my Ada example, and the other was at least two times as lengthy. Apparently even your colleagues found the original example unreadable. -- * The opinions expressed herein are my own, except in the realm of software * * engineering, in which case I borrowed them from incredibly smart people. * * * * Rational: cutting-edge software engineering technology and services. *