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=0.1 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_05,INVALID_MSGID autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,62e4ff1c81d8bff2 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public From: Alan Brain Subject: Re: What is ADA? Date: 1997/05/13 Message-ID: <33781733.5E7A@dynamite.com.au>#1/1 X-Deja-AN: 241060372 References: To: David Chang Organization: @Home Reply-To: aebrain@dynamite.com.au Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Date: 1997-05-13T00:00:00+00:00 List-Id: David Chang wrote: > So, will you nice people be kindly give me a rough idea what's > Ada and how different it is compare with C(My best programming language). > How should I be prepared for it? What I need to read or do? and > Suggestions for books or readings, etc. I will be very approciate it. > > The additional information that will help me is that. Where can I > get a Ada compiler and what platform can it exist on. How many version of > Ada is out there, price of compiler, etc. Thank you, thank you very much. > > Thank you for your time David, first congrats on getting the job. BTW you won't be Robinson Crusoe in knowing little about the language. Most firms are set up to teach you on the job out of neccessity. Secondly, all you ever wanted to know is in http://www.adahome.com/ Thirdly, although if you go to the above URL it will answer all your questions, here's some short answers to your specific questions anyway. How does Ada compare with C? - There's an article at the above site, on the equivalencies for Ada and C - "Ada for C programmers" If you read K&R, in the preface it states that C is a relatively low-level language. You're dealing with bytes, floats and so on, very close to the way the machine operates, with few concessions to expressing a solution to a problem in the real world. Ada is a high-level language, where it's possible (even encouraged) not just to distinguish between ints and floats, but between temperatures and distances. How should you prepare for it? - Do the Lovelace on-line tutorial, available at http://www.adahome.com/ which is by far the best on-line tutorial for any language I've ever seen. Suggestions for books - I like Barnes, "Programming in Ada" but there are many others, see the URL for details. Where can I get a Ada compiler and what platform can it exist on. - http://www.adahome.com/ has several FREE Ada compilers. GNAT is probably the best, it's "Industrial Strength", not just a learning compiler. Platform - IBM compatible, MAC, Unix... How many version of Ada is out there, price of compiler, etc. - There's Ada-83 (the original) and Ada-95. Many of the OO concepts in C++ are already in Ada-83, Ada-95 has the rest plus a lot more. As to price of compiler, you can download a FREE one, or buy a CD from Walnut Creek which has 1.3 GB of Ada material, including compilers, tutorials, the language reference manual, etc etc etc available at http://www.cdrom.com/ I believe. Cost plus shipping is under $45. BTW it's Ada not ADA. -- aebrain@dynamite.com.au <> <> How doth the little Crocodile | Alan & Carmel Brain| xxxxx Improve his shining tail? | Canberra Australia | xxxxxHxHxxxxxx _MMMMMMMMM_MMMMMMMMM 100026.2014 compuserve o OO*O^^^^O*OO o oo oo oo oo By pulling MAERKLIN Wagons, in 1/220 Scale See http://www.z-world.com/graphics/z/master/8856.gif for picture