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Yes, but dumbed down probably refers more to the capabilities rather than the computing power. Phones are great, but aren't really for real work.


This looks like C with many of the benefits you'd get from something like Python where strings and hashes are really easy with the built-ins methods of dealing with them.

How fast is the alpha version and has any work been made for the GUI/Graphics library?


I really like the language, but the only compiler I'd trust is the adacore one and I imagine it is pretty pricey for commercial work


Why not FSF’s GNAT? It’s been a while since I used it, but I remember preferring its error messages to some commercial offering we had around.


SPARK [0], to put it simply. Contracts and static analysis rather than runtime checks takes Ada from being good to being great.

I do prefer GNAT's error messages over AdaCore's compilers (despite the compiler frontend still being based on GNAT), but SPARK adds a ton.

[0] I should note that SPARK 2014 is also available as a GPL'd "community" edition.

EDIT: Asterisk + HN formatting


AdaCore's compiler is GNAT.

They sell a pro version with bells and whistles but AFAIK the actual compiler is the same.


You can't use a lot of the libraries and still get the runtime exception to where it doesn't have to be released as GPL I think.


GNAT Community version does not offer support for old versions of Ada, GNAT Pro does, but at the same time GCC's Ada (gcc-ada is the package for Arch Linux, for example) supports all versions of Ada. Funny that. I cannot say I am completely happy with the way they are trying to get money.


Why not the other remaining six vendors?


Damian Conway is a beast.


It is also a chilling documentary on Prime and probably YouTube. Just to think how close we came to losing part of Arkansas and Tennessee...and then to find out how common this was.


Same


I'd bet Matlab has more use than you think.

Most engineering students use it, as well as some in math and physics. It is also popular in various aspects of industry (Ex: automotive and aerospace) for prototyping and simulations.


Fifteen years ago basically all of my scientist friends used Matlab. Now a lot of them have switched to Python.


Very true, but a lot of folks (think researchers who have been using Matlab for over a decade) might not have the time or desire to learn Python and rewrite their Matlab code or manage two code bases.


That's true.


I agree. One issue I find is that many students struggle with the remedial and 101 classes which I honestly think and decent freshman or sophomore in highschool should be able to do. The point is that highschool isn't very successful for many students.


Engineering is a bit different. I found that most of the classes had professors that switched up the problems significantly every year to where old tests didn't help much. Memorization is useless when there are a nearly infinite amount of different circuit problems that can go on the test. You have to actually understand the material and how to apply it in diverse situations. You also typically find that most required classes outside of the math/physics/engineering (Ex: literature and psychology) are pretty simple to ace. I never heard of anyone who had someone write them a paper.


I'm guessing it varies a lot by school. I went to a top engineering school as an undergrad and cheating was rampant - probably something like 1/3 of the graduating class participated in cheating to some extent. I then went to another top engineering school as a graduate student and I never saw anyone cheat.


Yeah I think so. I was shocked to discover that over a 1/3rd of the computer science classes I TA'd as a grad student were cheating, repeatedly, on homework assignments and tests. I had come from a culture as an undergrad (and graduate student at another university) where cheating even once was a potential expellable offense. At the very least you would fail the class. In the comp sci classes I TA'd the professor would fail the students for the assignments but no more, even after multiple offenses.


Perhaps the differences could be explained by differences in how the institutions ranked their teaching staff?


Interesting. At my university it was most certainly fail the course and possibly expulsion.


At my school it was seen as a political issue.

If you got stuck in a section that was dominated by a particular group of students, you were screwed because the class had a hard curve and the group openly and blatantly cheated.

We had a faculty mentor from a different department sit in and witness what happened in an midterm, and escalated it to the administration, who made an accommodation for us.


I think this varies a lot by professor. Typically failing a student involves a lot of extra paperwork on the professor's part. Doubly so if it's for academic dishonesty.


Cheating in engineering is pointless. At every tech company I’ve interviewed at (on either side of the table) as soon as you get into the interview what school you went to and what grades you got don’t matter. If you can’t whiteboard some technical problems you aren’t getting in.


I know people that cheated, were utterly incompetent, and got prestigious jobs at tech firms.


As engineers? Like, actual individual contributions and not managers? Doing what?


The only engineering firms I've interviewed for which had rigorous technical interviews, were consulting firms. Most other firms were almost exclusively focused on soft-skills and personality, and then some pretty softball technical questions.


Yes, as engineers.


That company sucks then. It might be hard to measure between competent engineers but bad engineers stick out like a sore thumb. If that keeps happening it means the entire engineering department sucks at those companies.


When I say prestigious jobs, I don't mean random companies you've never heard of - these include companies well known for their engineering excellence. I don't know how their careers advanced, so maybe they quickly found themselves looking for work elsewhere. No hiring process is perfect. We've all had to deal with less-than-excellent coworkers.


Our engineering college had a policy that all old tests had to be on file at the library. It prevented professors from just recycling exams and deprived the cheater groups of their advantage. The science colleges did not do that, and cheating was rampant for those classes.


Sounds like a really good policy. Despite what I previously said, some people who have friends that are older seem to get an advantage as if they have enough tests, they might see a familiar problem and generally be aware of the steps to solve it and about how complex it will be without having to reason it out from scratch. This can have a big impact on some exams depending on the professor.


That is an excellent policy. May I ask which school?


Doesn't Perl6 have a pretty extensive ability to call other languages like Python, Lua, Ruby, C...etc?


C, C++, perl5, possibly python (not sure there), and any jvm language if you use the jvm version.


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