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=1.2 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,INVALID_DATE, MSGID_SHORT,REPLYTO_WITHOUT_TO_CC,SUBJ_ALL_CAPS autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!seas.gwu.edu!mfeldman From: mfeldman@seas.gwu.edu (Michael Feldman) Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Re: MERIDIAN ADAZ COMPILER Message-ID: <2394@sparko.gwu.edu> Date: 1 Dec 90 00:16:14 GMT References: <17647@shlump.nac.dec.com> Reply-To: mfeldman@seas.gwu.edu () Organization: The George Washington University, Washington D.C. List-Id: In article <17647@shlump.nac.dec.com> nadkarni@ashok.dec.com (Ashok P. Nadkarni) writes: > >>Has anyone else received a flyer in the mail from Meridian Software >>Systems announcing their new, low-cost Ada compiler system AdaZ? > >I too would like to know how good this software is. Is it only a `toy' >useful for learning but not much else ? Would it be possible to develop >the same class of applications that can done using MS-C or Turbo C ? > The only difference between the $149. AdaZ and the "expensive" Meridian system is that AdaZ is real-mode only. For the 386 or protected- mode code generator you pay more. This is a REAL Ada system. I know it sounds hard to believe, but it is as real as any other Ada compiler you'll find. Regarding applications: I see no reason why you couldn't develop (real-mode) applications just as you would in C. In the absolute worst case, if there was something you needed from the machine that AdaZ wouldn;t give you, you could use Meridian's interface to MS-C, which comes with the system. But given the DOS package you get, I don't think you'd really need to do that. Whether AdaZ or TurboC is "better" in any sense, depends on whether you like Ada better than C or vice versa. Both are genuine software products. I think your $149. is well spent. Most Ada compilers are slower (at compile time) than their C counterparts. This has been discussed at length on this group; it has nothing to do with AdaZ, only with the different expectations in Ada compilers. I'd be glad to continue discussions on this by private e-mail. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Prof. Michael Feldman Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science The George Washington University Washington, DC 20052 202-994-5253 mfeldman@seas.gwu.edu ---------------------------------------------------------------------------