Re: Teaching C/C++ from Ada perspective?

[Maciej Sobczak <see.my.homepage@gmail.com>]

 
> Oh, so the take-away is:
[...]

Nothing of what you wrote is a take-away, because I did not write any of this.

> bad C++ instructors don't teach classes and namespaces and C++ standard library's containers?

I don't know what bad instructors teach. I know what good instructors should teach.

> I strongly believe that thinking-in-Ada has so vastly much more to contribute to C++-based program design than merely “Make sure that you use classes & namespaces & C++ standard library's containers”.

You have skipped other important points that I have made. Don't troll with me, it's too cheap.
"Thinking-in-Ada" is a micro-skill that is best used in Ada. Conversely, if you are using Ada but you do not think-in-Ada, then it is a recipe for disaster.  Thinking-in-Ada is a very valuable skill once you have it, but it is still a micro-skill that has its proper use only with Ada. What you need when transitioning to another language (even more when you teach others) is thinking in terms of good design and good idioms, so that you can apply them onto your thinking-in-other-language. Ada has a lot to contribute in this area and learning Ada is a good way to acquire these skills, but these skills are not exclusive or limited to Ada, so I will not call them thinking-in-Ada.

In other words: if you are about to teach C++, then think-in-C++ and bring in your good design and idiomatic habits that you have already acquired.
But don't get obsessed with micro details, because this is where you will be forcing a round peg into a square whole. It's not effective.

The following:

#define begin {
#define end }

is a very bad example of thinking-in-Ada applied to C++. On the other end of the scale you have modular design with the use of physical program structure, which is a good example of a skill that is transferable (and therefore not exclusive to any language, but possible to acquire in Ada). Everything else is somewhere in between with a gray division area with space for subjective judgement. Integer ranges is an example of thinking-in-Ada that does not translate well to C++. The select statement is another example of thinking-in-Ada that should not be forced to C++, although protected objects are very welcome. And so on.

-- 
Maciej Sobczak * http://www.inspirel.com