Re: c++ vs ada results

[uvaarpa!software.org!stluka@mcnc.org (Fred Stluka)]

In article <1991Aug13.142900.28910@slcs.slb.com> cornish@slcs.slb.com (Darryl C
ornish) writes:
> Grady Booch converted the Booch Ada Component Library from ADA to C++.
> The result was thaty 150,000 lines of ADA became 20,000 lines of C++. 
> 
> While smaller is not necessarily better, this does give one cause to
> wonder at the logic of people (e.g., the DOD) who make decisions on 
> the fact that ADA programmers produced 30% more lines of code / month 
> than C++ programmers.

This comparison requires some context.

The Booch parts are a small collection of FAMILIES of related parts.
That is, there are dozens of variations on the implementation of a 
stack, dozens of queues, etc.  This is exactly the kind of code which
can benefit MOST by inheritance (one of C++'s admitted strengths over 
Ada).  It would be hard to contrive a 150,000 line example which was 
less suited to Ada and more suited to C++.  

Based on the huge amount of duplication in the Booch parts, I am 
surprised that the reduction was only a factor of 7.5.

It is unreasonable to extrapolate from this single figure when 
discussing complete software systems.

--Fred
-- 
Fred Stluka                               Internet: stluka@software.org
Software Productivity Consortium          UUNet:    ...!uunet!software!stluka
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