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,d901a50a5adfec3c X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public From: "Samuel T. Harris" Subject: Re: Fortran or Ada? Date: 1998/09/24 Message-ID: <360A8A1A.3019288B@hso.link.com>#1/1 X-Deja-AN: 394445780 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit References: <98092310454016@psavax.pwfl.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Organization: Raytheon Training Inc. Mime-Version: 1.0 Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Date: 1998-09-24T00:00:00+00:00 List-Id: Marin David Condic, 561.796.8997, M/S 731-96 wrote: > > Oh, sure, if you leave in checks that Fortran doesn't perform, > you'll see Ada code that is slower. But I don't know of any Ada > compilers where you can't disable those checks and run without the > safety net if speed is an issue. (We do it regularly around here > for our real time control systems.) Also, I've heard tell of > Fortran compilers that included support for specialized hardware > (the Cray comes to mind) where they could generate extremely fast > code to, say, multiply vectors and such. But that's a little like > cheating since you are talking about a customized compiler for a > very narrow niche. One could do the same with an Ada compiler, but > you'd have to be spending the money to build it for the same niche > and that might not make economic sense. > While I was in the Air Force, on of my jobs was review of Ada waivers for Military Airlift Command. One came across my desk concerning the (then) new DPS-90 computers from Honeywell. These monsters sported (then) bleeding edge vector/matrix processors. The FORTRAN compiler which came with the machine fully supported this new technology. The Ada compiler from Honeywell did not (which was not surprising judging from their other offerings I was exposed to). A new project wanted to use the DPS-90 and did not want to use Ada. So they asked for a waiver to use FORTRAN noting the Ada compiler did not support the vector/matrix processor which was absolutely, positively needed for the project. I simply got on the machine, spent a couple of hours writing an Ada binding to FORTRAN code and VOILA, the Ada system now had access to the vector/matrix processor. So much for their "justification." I have always believed that Ada's most strategic features are its representation clauses and interface pragmas which allow me to "glue" together heterogenous development efforts, architectures, and COTS tools. With Ada, I have much greater flexibility when it comes to build or buy decisions since I can support most anybody's formats and protocols, no matter how obtuse they may be. I don't concern myself with the feasibility of interfacing system or interconnecting architectures since I already know Ada has the facilities to do the job. -- Samuel T. Harris, Principal Engineer Raytheon Training Incorporated "If you can make it, We can fake it!"