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: 1999/11/19 Message-ID: <3835B58B.9A24C3EB@pwfl.com>#1/1 X-Deja-AN: 550679742 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> <38341CB6.AF2A5895@pwfl.com> <812obu$1pp$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: 1999-11-19T00:00:00+00:00 List-Id: Robert Dewar wrote: > Typically this kind of comment comes from people who don't > have experience writing fiscal programs in COBOL or any other > language :-) Not entirely fair. In another life, I developed lots of financial applications in COBOL for the City of Chicago. I'll grant that COBOL has facilities that make this sort of thing easier - especially with file handling, decimal numbers, output formatting, etc. My only point was that otherwise intelligent people conclude that because COBOL has some superior features for a specific application domain that means the application domain can't be addressed by other languages which may not have all those spiffy domain specific features. I've also done financial applications in C. It's more work in some areas, but it is not at all impossible - or even necessarily difficult. I think that with Ada's data processing annex, it provides most of the tools needed to do the job - if not exactly as easily, at least well enough that it would be a viable choice for financial software alongside COBOL. (And let's be fair about COBOL: What it may make easier in some areas it often makes more difficult in others, so it may just be a wash.) Now how I went from business data processing to embedded realtime engine controls is a long story, but I've never been tempted to try writing a realtime executive in COBOL! ;-) 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/