Ada as a second language

What Hacker News says

1. claystuDec 2014
   When you get started, here are the two books that seem to get recommended the most frequently:

   Ada as A Second Language: http://amzn.com/0070116075

   Programming in Ada 2005: http://amzn.com/0321340787

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2. jordanbDec 2012
   The sad thing is that Norman Cohen has decided not to update Ada as a Second Language for Ada 05. It's just about the best book I've ever read for any computer language.
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3. fshaunNov 2017
   For learning a new language, if I have enough time, I read through the entire book. This helps me learn the terminology and names for concepts. It's much easier to search for more information when you know the right jargon. Reading everything helps to gauge the scope of the language and map it to or from known concepts. This is how I read TC++PL and Ada as a Second Language, which I think worked because their of their breadth.

   Sometimes there's not enough time to do that, like when you're thrown into an unfamiliar code base or need to interface with a new API. Then I thoroughly read enough chapters to get the syntax and skim the start of other chapters, plus the index/glossary, again minly to learn terms. The required depth depends on what you're doing. If there's an unfamiliar concept heavily used in the code, of course read those sections more.

   I usually avoid exercises because I already have a project or goal, so I work up my own examples that advance those needs but still use the idea or technique of the exercises. I highly recommend trying out a new technique with a small test before applying it at large, or assuming its use as part of the software architecture. You don't want to discover late in the game that the way you planned to use Java generics or C# Pinvoke won't work.

   Sometimes the goal is to learn a new technique or dive deeper into the language. I've immensely enjoyed books by Meyers, Alexandrescu, and Sutter, that have more self-contained sections. I still find it useful to read the ToC or skim the chapter introductions, but my mindset is usually more "how can I apply this?", and reading everything straight through doesn't give me enough time to focus on specific things.

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4. cjensenDec 2014
   I have an old copy of 'Ada as A Second Language'.

   It's like a million pages. A second language handbook shouldn't be thicker than K&R. Do you know any short books that really assume I already know how to program?

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5. protomythMar 2014
   this seems to be a good starting point these days - http://www.adacore.com/adaanswers/resources

   I learned with "ADA as a Second Language", but its way out of date and I do believe out of print.

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