Re: Ada vs C/UNIX / switching speeds

[sakkinen@tukki.jyu.fi (Markku Sakkinen)]

In article <14042@grebyn.com> ted@grebyn.com (Ted Holden) writes:
> [...]  Remember,
>it is Ada and not C or C++ which makes the mistake of having
>tasking be part of a programming language rather than part of an
>OS or a library.

I don't agree it's a mistake.
On the contrary, it is better to do tasking in a language
that has been designed for tasking than in one that hasn't.
Many people seem to believe that programming language problems
go magically away if we move them from the language proper
to libraries, i.e. sweep under the carpet.
(Similarly, it was often supposed some years ago that many
problems disappear if things are moved from the ordinary programming
realm to the silicon.)

> [...]
>Did I ever say anything about implementing a real-time or embedded
>system in vanilla UNIX?  Did any of the C or UNIX gurus on the net?

This rather confesses that the tasking capabilities of normal UNIX
versions are no good (and I think that does not concern only true
real-time or embedded systems). It is already in a little contradiction
with Holden's first opinion.

> [...]

Markku Sakkinen
Department of Computer Science
University of Jyvaskyla (a's with umlauts)
Seminaarinkatu 15
SF-40100 Jyvaskyla (umlauts again)
Finland