Re: Ada is almost useless in embedded systems

[Hugh Dunne <dunneh@lhd.logica.com>]

AdaWorks wrote:
> 
> Joe Gamache (jgamache@mailgw.sanders.lockheed.com) wrote:
> : In article <824056183.18993@assen.demon.co.uk>,
> : john@assen.demon.co.uk says...
> : >
> 
> : >1) Strong typing is very good if your coders are learners or
> : possibly
> 
>   The fact that several contibutors to this thread are focusing their
>   comments on "strong typing" indicates that there are still a large
>   number of software practitioners who do not understand the underlying
>   rationale for Ada.
> 
>   Ada is not about strong typing.[snip]
>   So what is the criteria you use for selecting a programming environment?
>   The overriding issue is whether one wants a language in which the compiler
>   catches most of the errors.  If the answer is, "Yes," the correct choice
>   is Ada.  If it is, "No," use something else.  Decide on your criteria and
>   the select the language.  As for me, I am not very smart, so I like to
>   use a language that helps me avoid stupid misteaks. [sic]  :-)

Good point. Strong typing is part of a larger issue: having the compiler
catch as many mistakes as possible. I can't think of a situation where it's 
preferable to have the application crash at run time, or worse still, silently 
give wrong answers.

Another meta-issue is having code that is readable and self-documenting. This
is _not_ just for the benefit of novice coders. No matter how expert your
fellow team members are, give them a break and things will go more smoothly
for the whole team. Even if you're a one-person team, remember that the code
you write today may have to be set aside for a while and then looked at again.
A little foresight will pay dividends.

Of course Ada by itself doesn't guarantee readable code, but it does make it
easier for a conscientious programmer to produce readable code. Very often
you can produce a code fragment which looks almost exactly the same as the
text of the requirement. You don't have to mess around with the ampersands,
asterisks and various dingbats that are unavoidable in C and C++.

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