Re: Ada?

[nickroberts@ukf.net (Nick Roberts)]

On Tue, 19 Feb 2002 15:21:30 -0600, "anymous" <anymous@nowhere.com>
strongly typed:

>I was thinking about learning ada.  I was wondering were the language was
>heading. Is it obsolete, or is it still in use, and if it is, what are its
>uses.  I also know Visual Basic, will this help me any?  Thanks for any
>info.

I encourage you to learn Ada, at least to a basic level (as it were ;-)
since the knowledge will certainly help you to use and understand other
languages better (yes, really true).

Ada is not obsolete yet, and will not become utterly obsolete for a long
time. It is, however, used for only a tiny percentage of all the
professional programming projects in the world, and this seems unlikely to
change significantly in the foreseeable future (much as we Ada enthusiasts
would wish otherwise). The projects Ada is used in may be considered
'glamorous' (e.g. the flight systems of the Space Shuttle); but getting a
job programming in Ada is relatively difficult, even in the US (and
reportedly near impossible in most other countries).

On the other hand, there is a huge demand for Visual Basic at the moment
(which may well shift towards Java, C#, and maybe other 'flavour' languages
in the not-too-distant future). You should endeavour to learn either VB or
Java, if you may be looking to get a programming job to pay the rent. I'd
also suggest it's important you learn elementary SQL (if you haven't
already).

If you are in the unusual position of being able to choose a programming
language for a particular project, then the next question is certainly
"What is your application?" (The application domain for VB is very
different to that of Ada, and the overlap is small.)

My advice for getting a programming job is: find out as much as you can
about what the prospective employer is doing, and needs (or is likely to
need) programmers for, and then walk in and (LIE!) make out your skills and
interests are all in those areas (with a totally straight face); whichever
languages they use or require skill in, tell them you know them all
intimately (again, just LIE, even if you've never of heard of them); always
be courteous, but assume the company -- no matter how big, slick, or
impressive -- is a pile of pig excrement to work for, and ask as many
diplomatic questions as you can to allow them to prove otherwise (and if
they fail to prove otherwise, take another offer if you have one). Simply
do not worry you are overselling yourself (just take it from me). Emphasise
practicality.

As ever, I add the advice that, in reality, the way you program is always
more important than the language you program in, and that the language
chosen should always be the one 'right for the job', just like a carpenter
will select just the right tool, from a box of many. The more languages you
know (to a level where you can use it in anger), the better a programmer
you are; it's not _which_ languages you know that counts, but how many.
There's also things such as your knowledge of libraries, programming tricks
and techniques, algorithms, and debugging. Above all, simple patience
typically marks out an unusually useful programmer.

On the other hand, do not overload your brain (this is actually a serious
comment). Do stretch yourself,  but not too far. We all have limitations:
find yours, and do not grossly exceed them; do not hurt the most precious
thing you have (your mind). If you ever get to the point where (for more
than just a few days) you don't enjoy programming any more, quit it as soon
as you diplomatically can, and pursue a better career (there are many).

Enough advice! Good luck. 

-- 
Nick Roberts