From mboxrd@z Thu Jan  1 00:00:00 1970
X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me
X-Spam-Level: 
X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.3 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,INVALID_MSGID
	autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4
X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit
X-Google-Thread: 103376,948c42d74a60770e
X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public
X-Google-Thread: 1014db,df854b5838c3e14
X-Google-Attributes: gid1014db,public
X-Google-Thread: 109fba,df854b5838c3e14
X-Google-Attributes: gid109fba,public
From: sheldon@amc.com (Sheldon White)
Subject: Re: C/C++ knocks the crap out of Ada
Date: 1996/03/19
Message-ID: <1996Mar19.183154.18826@amc.com>#1/1
X-Deja-AN: 143313348
references: <4idh80$6tj@solutions.solon.com>
 <4idk8oINNrr2@keats.ugrad.cs.ubc.ca> <4if97t$1cqm@saba.info.ucla.edu>
organization: Applied Microsystems, Redmond, WA
newsgroups: comp.lang.ada,comp.lang.c,comp.lang.c++
Date: 1996-03-19T00:00:00+00:00
List-Id: <comp.lang.ada>

In article <4if97t$1cqm@saba.info.ucla.edu> jmartin@cs.ucla.edu (Jay Martin) writes:
>c2a192@ugrad.cs.ubc.ca (Kazimir Kylheku) writes:
>

(deletia)

>
>Alright dumbshits lesson time:
>
>  -- Tools and operating systems that only support one language are junk.
>     Basic computer science, anyone who thinks otherwise is incompetent.
>  

That's probably true. Fortunately, UNIX is not such a system.

>  -- Stupidly go on and on about how an certain IO routine is not as fast
>     as Lex, not too swift.  (1) Won't matter if your reading in 1K.
>     (2) Just shows the IO routine is broken.  Its trivia.
>   

I've worked on a lot of parsers, both using Yacc/Lex and using straight C
code. Unless the syntax was completely trivial, using a tool like Yacc is
vital for maintaining the code. Also, if your scanf version is too slow, what
are you going to do? Rewrite scanf()?

>  -- Go on and on how its great to over-engineer something simple.
>     How great it is to be a "savant" at a criptic tool with little
>     eye to the effects of using that tool to the maintainability
>     of the software.  This is called "eat shit next guy" hacking.
>

Have you ever had to maintain a large parser, day in and day out, written in
"just-crank-some-code" C? Talk about "eat shit next guy"...

Have you ever used a tool like Yacc?

>Of course when you tell of maintainance headaches caused by abuse of
>these tools do to they are ready availability and it is supposed to be
>so cool to use them.  Then its the usual C/Unix hacker macho attitude
>of "they are just lame programmers" the tools are great!  
>

There's nothing cool about Yacc. There's nothing cool about a sledgehammer.
They are tools that can make life much, much easier.

>The Unix philosophy is great for the quick hack, but for larger
>software development the philosophy becomes counter productive.

I'm sorry, but you sound like someone who hasn't had to maintain a large
-- 

-sheldon white-  :^/

sheldon@amc.com