Rating: 
Summary: This book is clear and concise for beginners or experts.
Review: If you believe all the bad reviews you've read about this book...don't! Anyone who thinks this book is hard to read and should only be used by experienced programmers probably shouldn't even be trusted to tie their own shoes. I didn't know a thing about Ada before buying this book and after reading it I feel I know as much as Mr. Barnes himself. The history of Ada83 and Ada95 - as well as OO programming - is well-organized and top-notch. The sections clearly mark differences between Ada83 and Ada95. It has numerous real-world examples which are helpful for my every day applications. It's also a great progressive learning tool with numerous exercises at the end of each section.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book for Professionals
Review: If you really want to understand the Rationale behind Ada95, this book is a must read. It is not for beginners in programming, but experienced programmers- even if they don't know Ada - will learn a lot from this book. They will never have the same look at their favourite primary programming language, even if it is already Ada.
Rating:
Summary: Highly accessible, complete coverage of Ada 95
Review: John Barnes' book is a very easy to read, complete coverage of a powerful language. The book is intended for those with some knowledge of programming, providing both details and, especially, rationale for the language features. Explaining the rationale and possible use of language features is, in fact, the best aspect of the book, and has long been a characteristic of Barnes' writing. So many books in this category simply reiterate syntax and semantics; read this book and you will *understand* Ada as well as recognize it. If you pay attention there is even subtle humor strewn throughout, making an otherwise potentially dry subject a pleasure to read about. As a long-time Ada developer and a provider of industrial Ada-related courses, I strongly recommend this book to those who have no prior experience with the Ada language. As the owner of over forty books on the subject (including both editions of this one!) I rate this second edition in the top handful of all books concerning the Ada language.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best complete intros to Ada95
Review: John was one of the creators of Ada83 and his books have long been regarded as the "Bibles' of the Ada language. This 2nd edition of Programming in Ada95 is no exception. He covers the entire language in great detail yet avoids many of the 'language lawyer' issues that might confuse the beginning Ada programmer. I have used Ada for about 10 years in avionics and simulation applications and have always recommended John's books to newcommers to Ada and with this new edition, I still do. The inclusion of more complete examples is a welcome addition in this edition also. While there are many good books on Ada available, this one still ranks as one of the best.
Rating: 
Summary: OK, but not for beginners
Review: Like the Ada language itself, I find this book wordy and repetitive, but complete. It really does seem to have full descriptions of all the language features. I'm not sure, because I have to flip to so many different sections to see one feature described, that I really don't know whether I found everything. This book reads like a standards document, designed by commitee. (If you're never read standards, imagine reading 'War and Peace' by selecting pages in random order.) In the bigger standards, any given component tends to make sense only when you've mastered all other system features, so you understand how that component fits the system as a whole. That means the learning curve includes a jump discontinuity, from zero up to where you've absorbed some critical mass of information. That's what this book is like. Yes, Ada is a complex language, so a truly brief description is impossible. A better writer knows, though, that brevity (to a point) improves clarity, and that the organization of content is at least as important as the content itself. The one real strength in this book is the many examples. They are sometimes over-long for the points they make, but seem to demonstrate most of the important language features. If you already know a few languages including at least one with object orientation, you should be able to hack a trail for yourself through this thicket of information - the author has not paved a clear path for you. If you are a beginning programmer, you're likely to have a hard time of it.
Rating:
Summary: Good book for C++'er learning Ada
Review: Man, these Ada books are expensive! But this was 1/2 of most others. The paperback cover is kinda flimsy, but it'll just make me look like a more experienced programmer as it gets doggeard '-)
I'm a long time C++'er but knew nothing about Ada, which 95% of my new job involves. So I needed something to bring me up to speed quickly. I find this book very readable and pretty well organized. The first few chapters teach you the 10% you'll use 90% of the time and the other 90%, if you need it, is covered in depth later in the book. I think those that don't like this book probably don't like Ada (but who does?) because I find this book great, Ada is just a tough language that you just can hack with like C++.
I'm very pleased with this "bargan" book and think it'll be the only Ada book I'll need to buy. Strongly recommend
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding deep coverage of Ada for intermediate 2 advanced
Review: One (of course, anonymous) reviewer wrote, "How I wishthere were an 'ADA for Idiots' book". Frankly, I find far toomany programming books that attempt to water down a language. John Barnes's book is definitely not one of these. "Programming in Ada95" is one of my all-time favorite programming books, challenging as well as a blast to read. Alas, it was not written for idiots whom are too cowardly to place their names when they malign an outstanding work. If you are a real programmer, you will find this book a treasure even if you are a beginner. You will grow into it over time and you will be a better coder for it. Be brave and dare to be excellent, or find another occupation. By the way, it is Ada, not ADA...
Rating: 
Summary: Book is too difficult to read.
Review: The first chapters jump into flash-forwards of features to be explained later. This may make for a good sci-fi novel, but makes a very confusing technical manual. If you are looking for a book that reads well look elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: not good no examples
Review: There were no complete examples, I could not understand anything. Ada must be very hard, it is impossible to learn anything from the book.
Rating:
Summary: Lacks organization and fails to accomplish purpose
Review: This book attempts to explain how to program in ADA. Unfortunately, ADA is an unusual and non-intuitive language which has a number of bizarre features. Or so it seems from Barnes' text. This book suffers from incomplete examples, illustrations that don't necessarily run on an actual ADA compiler, and poor selection of examples. In one instance, in a disturbing attempt at explaining the structure of arrays in ADA, the author chooses to use the concept of a PASCAL triangle. Don't ask why. Or how. Or what's the point. After reading this, I invariably ended up using other sources to understand how to create arrays in ADA. The author proceeds to jump from topic to topic. In one of these jumps, he ends up in OOP (object oriented programming). It's more like OOPS! His definition of OOP is anything but comprehensible. If I'd wanted a text that was needlessly complicated, I would have stuck with the ADA manual that comes with the compiler. My point in buying a supplemental book was to have a cost-effective way to gain a quick and functional understanding of ADA. Personally, I think it was a waste of my money. It has left me confused and tentative when it comes to having to use ADA. How I wish there were an "ADA for Idiots" book. Sure would be better than this text, which is nothing more than an "ADA for Those Who Are Already Experts in ADA and Don't Mind So-So English Composition Skills".
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