How Would a Hobbyist Learn Ada?

"Ludovic Brenta" <ludovic@ludovic-brenta.org> wrote in message
news:df8603e3-f095-416b-acc3-f15f128cbc71@d1g2000hsg.googlegroups.com...
> This discussion and the related points made in "Access procedure to
> pointer" make me wonder how people who are now knowledgeable in Ada
> learned the language.

I was given an Ada subset as the language to implement for the compiler
construction class at the University of Wisconsin (this was the 1980-81
school year). At the time, I didn't know the language at all, and I don't
think I did much programming in it the first year or so. We gradually
expanded the subset (and moved the compiler to early PCs); I probably didn't
really appreciate the eligance or advanced features until much later. After
the first year, we ported the compiler into its own subset, and then I
really learned how to program well in it. There weren't any books at the
time (or we couldn't afford them - college students starting a business
don't have much money - I recall that my 1982 income was $2400). I read some
of the early textbooks later, and we used to sell copies of the Pyle book
with the compiler.

(Aside: Eventually, we created our own textbook and matching video tape with
Geoff Gilpin. The video tape tried to inject some humor into the talking
heads approach of the other tapes we'd seen. Unfortunately, it nearly got
Geoff killed. In the introduction to "exception handling", Geoff asked what
would happen if a program divided by zero. What happened was that a Wile E.
Coyote-style 10-ton weight fell onto Geoff and his computer. Of course, the
prop was hollow so it covered him up completely. The first time they tried
the scene, the thing floated down like a parachute. So they scrounged around
the studio and came up with some weights to put on top of it. The next take,
the thing came down with a bang and the wood frame shattered - leaving a
nail a couple of inches from Geoff's forehead. I would have hated to have to
explain that injury to the worker's compensation people... ;-) [However,
that take looks great and was the one used on the final tape.] Humm, it
would be nice to transcribe those from VHS tape to something digital, even
though they would be much use these days (they're geared toward Ada 83 on
MS-DOS). Could put them on our website or something.)

Randy.

>would be nice to transcribe those from VHS tape to something digital, even
>though they would be much use these days (they're geared toward Ada 83 on
>MS-DOS). Could put them on our website or something.)
Cool! Do it!

I first looked at Ada seriously back in 1989 when I was working for a company
doing a missile test set which was programmed in Forth. They ask me to look
at some new language options since Forth was considered a rather obscure
language (even though it did a great job for what we were doing). I had been
aware of Ada’s development so I looked at it. After reading “Ada: An Advanced
Introduction” by Narain Gehani and getting a hold of an early MS-DOS compiler
from RR-Software (thanks, Randy!), I was hooked! We didn’t make the switch on
that project but every job since then has been in Ada and I have never looked
back. Ada has been very rewarding to me, both financially and in knowing that
I have created quality engineered products for safety and mission critical
applications. Ada is also my first choice for hobby projects or quick
prototyping of new ideas. I use it often to create Windows GUI-based hardware
simulators that communicate over a serial port to other hardware devices. I
know Ada is declining in use now but I hope enough younger engineers discover
the elegance and beauty of it as I did and keep it alive.


--
Jerry

<tmoran@acm.org> wrote in message
news:19-dnWNkPNukX83VnZ2dnUVZ_tPinZ2d@comcast.com...
> >would be nice to transcribe those from VHS tape to something digital,
> >even
>>though they would be much use these days (they're geared toward Ada 83 on
>>MS-DOS). Could put them on our website or something.)
> Cool! Do it!

Since I don't have (and never have had) a VHS tape deck, it would be
seriously hard to do that. It surely isn't worth spending money to do. I'd
have a better chance with 8" floppy disks (I've kept a set of those drives,
although it would probably take a lot of futzing around [cleaning contacts
and the like] to get them to work).

Randy.