Re: Ada -- a popular language?

["Nick Roberts" <Nick.Roberts@dial.pipex.com>]

John McCabe <john@assen.demon.co.uk> wrote in article
<334e73be.939766@news.demon.co.uk>...
> Dave Wood <dpw@aonix.com> wrote:
> 
> >Centaury wrote:
> >> 
> >> It seems that Ada is losing out to modern languages like C++. 
> >
> >It seems that as Ada 95 post-dated C++ and Ada 83 post-dated C,
> >Ada is the more modern language.
> 
> I read something the other day that said C++ was fourteen years old
> yet still not mature. That makes it approximately the same age as Ada
> 83.


On the other hand, to be fair, C++ is a rapidly evolving language -
evolving as we speak - whereas Ada 95 is fixed, and likely to remain fixed
for some time to come. I think advantages and disadvantages can be picked
out of both situations: the stability of Ada is an obvious advantage, but
it will age, just as Ada 83 aged; the transience of C++ causes headaches
for programmers and implementors alike, but C++ is, and will continue to
be, incorporating new advances (and indeed fashions) in programming
science.

I believe Ada is a better programming language - not just better for some
things, but better entirely - than C++ (and I do know both intimately - I
use C++ all the time for commercial projects). That commercial forces are
able to promote C++ so successfully I find an abomination. Engineering is
not supposed to be like that. All we Adaphiles can do is to keep gently
promoting Ada in our different ways, and hope that nature eventually is
allowed to take its course.

The true reason why Ada is not a very popularly used programming language
has nothing to do with the merits or demerits of the language, nor with the
preferences of programmers. It is almost entirely to do with the decisions
taken at a high level by managers whose decisions have little to do with
technicalities (but rather the safety of their jobs, promotional prospects,
etc). We must keep trying to convince them to specify Ada. In some cases,
lives really do depend on it. We may laugh about Airbus (and others), but
the relatives of the victims of those disasters aren't laughing.

Engineering is an honourable profession. Engineers who build apartment
blocks, or bridges, or airplanes, don't shrug their shoulders and say "oh
well, it may not be well built, but never mind, eh?" They take a pride in
what they do, and they know that the quality of what they do is important.
We need to spread this message to programmers, and their bosses.

Finally, it is a simple engineering principle that your work is only as
good as your tools. Ada is the better tool.

Now for a beer ...

Nick.