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=0.2 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,INVALID_MSGID, REPLYTO_WITHOUT_TO_CC autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: f5d71,d275ffeffdf83655 X-Google-Attributes: gidf5d71,public X-Google-Thread: 109fba,d275ffeffdf83655 X-Google-Attributes: gid109fba,public X-Google-Thread: 146b77,d275ffeffdf83655 X-Google-Attributes: gid146b77,public X-Google-Thread: 103376,d275ffeffdf83655 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public From: Marin David Condic Subject: Re: Ada vs C++ vs Java Date: 1999/02/08 Message-ID: <36BEECEF.70D8ED5E@pwfl.com>#1/1 X-Deja-AN: 441961947 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: condicma@bogon.pwfl.com References: <369C1F31.AE5AF7EF@concentric.net> <369DDDC3.FDE09999@sea.ericsson.se> <369e309a.32671759@news.demon.co.uk> <77ledn$eu7$1@remarQ.com> <77pnqc$cgi$1@newnews.global.net.uk> <8p64spq5lo5.fsf@Eng.Sun.COM> <77t3ld$nou$1@nnrp1.dejanews.com> <79ce4s$lfq$1@nnrp1.dejanews.com> <79chc7$ko6@drn.newsguy.com> <79dodb$rhf$1@nnrp1.dejanews.com> <79fm3e$ffs$1@nnrp1.dejanews.com> <79fnce$iv8@drn.newsguy.com> <79grbs$d5u$1@nnrp1.dejanews.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Organization: Pratt & Whitney Mime-Version: 1.0 Reply-To: diespammer@pwfl.com Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada,comp.lang.c++,comp.vxworks,comp.lang.java Date: 1999-02-08T00:00:00+00:00 List-Id: robert_dewar@my-dejanews.com wrote: > For example, should a sort routine be standardized? > Probably not, there are so many different algorithms, and > different algorithms are appropriate for different > purposes, and this very much seems to me to be the sort > of thing that is better handled by external libraries > (which could of course be standardized if that seemed > desirable). > What would be wrong with specifying a couple of "standard" generic sort routines that provided some of the most common algorithms? There are only so many versions of a Quicksort or Heapsort that anyone needs and having a "standard" version would a) eliminate duplication of effort and b) establish a "model" interface for any other sorting algorithms. As you are fond of observing about coding standards, it is not so important that we pick any one specific standard as it is that we all agree on one and stick to it. I was not particularly fond of the Strings packages in Ada95 as described in the annex, but I had to agree that I could accomplish all of the same things with these packages as I could with my own home grown ones. (mostly the "Not Invented Here" syndrome :-) Now they are part of the every day programming experience and I would like to think my code is a bit easier to deal with by other programmers because I use a "standard" library with clearly defined behavior rather than a home grown version. So if there was a series of annexes which described package interfaces for libraries of basic data structure manipulations, it would probably be a good thing. If the annexes were optional for compiler writers - with the stipulation that if not supplied that nothing about the compiler should inhibit their inclusion by a third party supplier or the end user - I think this would help to encourage more use of Ada. If there were a separate tree for these utilities and the tree could be extended by end users, it would encourage evolutionary development that would expand the language. Start with something called Utilities.Sorts.Quicksort and Utilities.Sorts.Heapsort and let the end users add algorithms as desired. Utilities.Sorts.Bubblesort? Utilities.Sorts.Slowsort? ;-) MDC -- Marin David Condic Real Time & Embedded Systems, Propulsion Systems Analysis United Technologies, Pratt & Whitney, Large Military Engines M/S 731-95, P.O.B. 109600, West Palm Beach, FL, 33410-9600 Ph: 561.796.8997 Fx: 561.796.4669 ***To reply, remove "bogon" from the domain name.*** "Government is not reason. It is not eloquence. It is a force. Like fire, a dangerous servant and a fearful master." -- George Washington