This has gotten stupid!

[rcd@ico.isc.com (Dick Dunn)]

> > 1. Precisely which Ada compilers produce better code than 
> >    which C compilers? Not all compilers are created equal...
>    The Telesoft TeleGen2 compiler, vs. all available C compilers,
>    as of circa October 1988; contact Telesoft for details...

Oh, right, Telesoft is the unbiased judge of the universal superiority of
its own compiler!

>    the statement was made at the Telesoft User's Group meeting at
>    the Tri-Ada '88 conference.  

In other words, they made the statement in what amounts to a mutual ad-
miration society meeting.

> > 2. What are the benchmarks and where can they be obtained?...

>    I seem to recall "Dhrystone", among others, being cited.  There 
>    were no limitations on the use of the Ada language.

You "seem to recall"???  Your grandiose boasting is based on something you
don't quite remember?  Even if the one you think you remember is correct,
it's a tiny synthetic benchmark with well-known problems (acknowledged by
the author) and it is NOT suitable for comparisons of compilers.

> > 3. What are the hardware/OS platforms and...

>    I think the comparison might have focused on Sun workstations,
>    but I'm by no means positive...

But soft! 'Tis fair Amnesia come to stay a while.  Isn't it convenient how
little information there is here?  It's probably a comparison against pcc.

Bill told us that, thanks to sophisticated compiler technology, Ada
compilers can now give us better object code than C compilers.  But the
claim apparently applies only to one Ada compiler; the claim is made by
the vendor of that compiler; the claim is reported at a meeting for users
of the compiler; the benchmarks and hardware platforms used for the com-
parison are conveniently forgotten.

Pure vapor.

Bill, you argue best for Ada when you don't post.

Does anyone have any substance about code-generation quality of Ada
compilers?  I think it's a potentially interesting subject.
-- 
Dick Dunn     rcd@ico.isc.com    uucp: {ncar,nbires}!ico!rcd     (303)449-2870
   ...`Just say no' to mindless dogma.