Re: How to get Ada to ?cross the chasm??

[Mehdi Saada <00120260a@gmail.com>]

As a beginner, I'll say two/three things about what just made me upset :
> That's fair but that's not the only issue. If no one appears to be maintaining the software then it becomes less attractive. Issues can come up later and with no one to apply a bug fix, it could be a real problem. 
Maintaining means usually fixing bugs that are not possible thanks to strong static checking. Hence, don't be surprised if the same Ada S/W works without maintaining 15 years later.
> Software that has not been updated for 10 years just isn't going to be as appealing as software that was updated a year ago.
Why so ? If it still works, why should you care about lack of advertising ?
Binding parts do age, but it's the same for every language. Yeah, sure the size of the community does play a role here. But the language's qualities have nothing to do with it...
> I am not a fan of Ruby on Rails but David Heinemeier Hansson did a good job of promoting it and getting people excited about it.
Relying on fashion like this is very much asking for contempt from people who do try to judge things/products rationally. If you think that is bigotry or arrogance... poor you.

> They would be fine if they announced they are a newbie or young but failing this, they will get flamed.
Yeah, that's called peer judgement. If you are offended by constructive criticism, you better don't ask any help...
> Would you want to send your high school age child to ask a question here? 
I am a youngster, asked dumb questions, and got adapted answers. Never the post was ignored. You just don't know what you're talking about. Actually, I'm very grateful to people here.

> And there there is the hugeness of the language. How could any dentist or young person be expected to cover it all?
No one is asking this, and it's not necessary to program. He/She can learn what they need to do what they want, step by step.
I do (try to) program in my pyjama. I don't have to know the entire language, because I'll never ever have to use it all in a project. Why would I bother then ? Plus, the standard libraries are really simple to use, because you don't HAVE to understand how they work, but only what they provide.
The only persons who are really bothered by this hugeness are compiler' writers and the like, but that's just their job.
> VCRs are gone now but it my understanding that BETA was much better than VHS but it died. Better doesn't mean it lives on, there are other forces.
Ah, Betacap... funny, my father worked in it.
Do you really think more/better advertising could have change something ? Choices are not rational in most cases, and if merely being better is your loss in the end, there's nothing to regret. Better disappearing than being dumbed down.