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: 103376,5ac12f5a60b1bfe X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-Thread: 101deb,f96f757d5586710a X-Google-Attributes: gid101deb,public X-Google-Thread: f43e6,5ac12f5a60b1bfe X-Google-Attributes: gidf43e6,public From: "Lon D. Gowen, Ph.D." Subject: Re: PL/I Versus Ada (Was: Arianne ...) Date: 1996/08/21 Message-ID: <321B1173.15FB7483@microware.com>#1/1 X-Deja-AN: 175577828 references: <4t9vdg$jfb@goanna.cs.rmit.edu.au> <4tiu6e$kpm@news2.cais.com> <4up8pi$lvi@goanna.cs.rmit.edu.au> <32106B34.57DB@lmtas.lmco.com> content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii organization: Microware Systems Corporation mime-version: 1.0 newsgroups: comp.software-eng,comp.lang.ada,comp.lang.pl1 x-mailer: Mozilla 2.02 (X11; I; SunOS 4.1.4 sun4c) Date: 1996-08-21T00:00:00+00:00 List-Id: Richard Riehle wrote: > > I changed the caption for the subject since this thread has > become more one of advocacy than issues related to Arianne. > > 1) I have heard a rumor that the first Alsys Ada compiler was > written in PL/I. True or False? > > 2) If PL/I is so excellent, why was it rejected during the > evaluation process that led to the development of Ada? For > that matter, why was C rejected? > > 3) I have heard that there is an object-oriented version of PL/I > under development. True or False? When? > > Language debates are almost always non-productive. But PL/I was > one of the first languages designed with many of the same goals we > attribute to Ada. Reflecting on PL/I in the context of those goals > might be useful in a better understanding of why we choose Ada rather > than PL/I for software that absolutely, positively must not fail. > > Richard Riehle Richard, thank you for changing the subject. I agree that it needed it! I have no answers for your first question above, and someone else has already answered your third question. I am not sure what you are after with your second question, but if it is referring to why Ada and not PL/I, the answer is probably due to PL/I's weak typing rules. The PL/I language is very flexible, but one pays a price for flexibility. The same reasoning applies to the "C" language as well. Lon -- Lon D. Gowen, Ph.D. Phone: (515) 223-8000 x217 Fax: (515) 224-1352 e-mail: gowen@microware.com WWW: www.microware.com U.S. Mail: Microware Systems Corporation Research & Development Department for Core Technologies 1900 N.W. 114th Street Des Moines, IA 50325-7077 Disclaimer: All opinions are mine and not necessarily those of anyone else. "Many 'real-life' errors are in fact easy to detect if one is careful to determine whether a test run failed to execute properly." --Joe W. Duran