Re: How to make Ada popular. Get rid of ";" at end of statement.

[Maciej Sobczak <see.my.homepage@gmail.com>]

> The one concrete reason I've ever heard for using C or C++ instead of Modula-2 or Ada is that C/C++ allow you to perform pointer arithmetic

Really? I would never consider that reason myself.
But I have two others that I consider important:

1. C or C++ allow to reuse the existing C or C++ libraries, of which there are too many to ignore them. In fact, in some areas like embedded systems (which is where Ada tries to compete) those libraries are essential to get anything done. Chips are too complex to program them via their register-level interfaces and vendors deliver only C libraries for their products.
No, the Ada's Interfaces.C does not even come close to be reasonably useful. It can be used only with those C interfaces that were specifically designed to facilitate such use. With others it is too much trouble.

2. Again with regard to embedded systems, hardware vendors provide their own IDEs. It's not just about libraries, see above, it's about the whole integrated approach to use the hardware from configuration to synthesis to programming. These IDEs are oriented towards C and C++ and with each new generation using any other language is more and more difficult. That is, it is genuinely *easier* to use C and C++.

> I had a conversation with a computer science professor the other day about security in automobiles, where a lot of people are using C or C++.

This is another source of misconception. Critical systems (not only automotive, but also medical, aviation, etc.) do not rely on programming languages to achieve reliability. They rely on independent verification processes, which also happen to account for most (like in >95%) of expenses. And Ada does nothing to make these processes any easier, because while belonging to the same family of programming technologies (3rd gen, imperative, etc.), its required verification technology is essentially the same. So why bother?

I would never consider semicolons or pointer arithmetic to be the decision-making points, but the above two subjects are killing the prospects for making Ada more popular in my domain.

-- 
Maciej Sobczak * http://www.inspirel.com