[cybervasi]

Ada language had generics since the first 1983 standard. When C++ came about it introduced OOP features that Ada lacked and didn't get for another 12 years when 1995 standard was introduced. C++ users never missed generics for many years and the language became ubiquitous while Ada remained marginalized. What's interesting is that all strongly typed languages have now jumped on the generics bandwagon, which to me shows that being ahead of its time doesn't pay off.

[erik_seaberg]

The first edition of Stroustrup is the only version without templates (and exceptions). I remember awful macro workarounds for C++ compilers with broken template support, so I think everyone knew that some kind of generics were obviously needed. Ada got this and a few other things right, but it was painfully verbose and the first compilers were so expensive that few seriously evaluated it.

[erik_seaberg]

If I had to pick a language that got nearly everything right and shouldn't have failed, it'd be Eiffel. But it was also priced more like a truck than a tool until too late (at a time when programmers didn't generally cost six figures!)