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: 103376,30df5a909ff1af4 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public From: Marin Condic Subject: Re: Answering an Ada/COBOL Question Date: 1999/11/18 Message-ID: <38341CB6.AF2A5895@pwfl.com>#1/1 X-Deja-AN: 550154006 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: condicma@bogon.pwfl.com References: <80hr16$5q2$1@nntp5.atl.mindspring.net> <80leu1$k3l$1@nnrp1.deja.com> <80mc1j$6fo$1@nnrp1.deja.com> <80piek$rd3$1@nntp1.atl.mindspring.net> <80qk9s$6h5$1@nnrp1.deja.com> <80sfrb$1o0$1@nntp3.atl.mindspring.net> <80vfv9$m0s$1@nnrp1.deja.com> X-Accept-Language: en Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Organization: Pratt & Whitney Mime-Version: 1.0 Reply-To: condicma@pwflcom Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Date: 1999-11-18T00:00:00+00:00 List-Id: Robert Dewar wrote: > That's true, but I am afraid this potential is so far > unrealized. The COBOL sector in general regards C and C++ > as hacker languages unsuitable for fiscal programming, But > they simply don't know about Ada as an alternative. I've wondered why it is that the perception exists that C/C++ would be unsuitable for financial software? They are, after all, "general purpose" languages. They may lack some of the convenient I/O that COBOL has and the support for decimal arithmetic, but one could probably build up some libraries to support that. Is the perception just a matter of someone slapping a label on the language? Someone says "COBOL = Business" or "Java = Internet" and otherwise intelligent people just assume that C/C++/Ada/Whatever can't do the same thing? (I can understand that for non-technical types but why do technically trained people swollow this?) Not that I'm advocating C/C++ here. Ada would clearly provide better support for financial software (I've got a bunch of financial packages on my web page that do lots of useful computations!) and in general doesn't have the boobytraps & shortcomings of C/C++. But I have in the past built software that was serving business/financial functions in C, so I know that it can be done. MDC -- Marin David Condic If you hurry you can, for a short time only, still find me at: 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 ***To reply, remove "bogon" from the domain name.*** Visit my web page at: http://www.mcondic.com/