This book is by far the most readable introduction to Ada 95 that I have encountered. I used it as a textbook for my junior-level Ada class at Rowan University in the Fall 1998 semester and was very pleased with it as a text.
The author's explanations are thorough without being overly wordy, and the writing style is informal and friendly without being sloppy or imprecise. Programming exercises at the end of each chapter reinforce the chapters' content. These exercises make good homework assignments (from an instructor's point of view) and are good practice problems (from a reader's point of view).
The book assumes little prior knowledge of programming, and as such it is appropriate for a Computer Science I course. This means that some of the explanations will be simpler than an experienced programmer requires, and such a reader may wish to skim some of the material in early chapters.
The author does not attempt to cover all details of Ada 95, which is a very large language, and a programmer who needs to learn Ada 95 in detail will want to add one or more additional Ada references to his or her library. However, as an introduction to Ada 95, this is the clearest, most readable book I have encountered, and I highly recommend it both to experienced programmers who are new to Ada and to novices who are new to programming.
