a question from a newbie...

a question from a newbie...

[David Dousette]

I'm currently a Computer Science student, and the current languages they are 
pushing on us are C/C++ and Java.  My uncle likes to tell stories of the 
days 
when he programmed in Ada when he was in college and for a while thereafter, 
so I did some research and found that Ada had both an "83" standard as well 
as 
a newer "95" standard.  I'm going to have a lot of free time in the summers, 
and I thought that working on some Ada 95 stuff might be fun, since it's a 
little different than the mainstream of everyone using C/C++.  But anyway, 
what are the advantages of using Ada over C/C++?  Does it generate faster 
code?  More secure code?  I heard it either is or used to be used in several 
government agencies, so I know it's gotta be superior in some way.

Please respond via email... thanks!
David
david.dousette@mailandnews.com

Re: a question from a newbie...

[tmoran]

>what are the advantages of using Ada over C/C++?  Does it generate
>faster code?  More secure code?

  Ada is a language.  It doesn't generate better code - it makes it
easier for you to write better code.  Better means easier for your
teammates and successors to understand and update, easier to port to
another system, and less likely to have hidden errors.

  Ada the language does have some capabilities that C/C++ does not,
including, for instance, multi-tasking, fixed point arithmetic,
distributed processing, decimal arithmetic and COBOL style picture
clauses.

An Ada compiler has more information about what's going on than a
C/C++ compiler, so it can generate faster code, but that can be
countered by additional run-time checking (which can of course be
turned off).  And of course different compilers (for Ada or C/C++)
have different speed/size/cost/convenience/helpfulness tradeoffs.

>I heard it either is or used to be used in several government
>agencies, so I know it's gotta be superior in some way.

  Most Ada books give some Ada history in the preface.  Ada was the
winner in a competition sponsored by the US Defense Department for a
powerful language for reliable, and long lasting, systems.  It's
used, among other places, in trains, planes, and rockets - where
crashes are not a joke.  I don't think it's used much by Microsoft.

  You might want to download one of the $0 Ada compilers to try out
this summer.  If you want to do Windows GUI stuff, there are also
interface libraries at several levels of abstraction, coverage,
and cost.  In his post-Freshman summer, my son practiced Ada by
writing a system to capture real-time usage information on a
Windows machine, write it to an MS Access database, and display
graphs.  What would you like to do?

  If you know C/C++, you might find "Ada as a second language" a
useful book.  There's also quite a bit of sample source code
available via Walnut Creek CDRoms or the net.  Look at
www.AdaPower.com

Re: a question from a newbie...

[Robert Dewar]

In article <3912C7D1@MailAndNews.com>,
  David Dousette <david.dousette@MailAndNews.com> wrote:
> I'm currently a Computer Science student, and the current
languages they are
> pushing on us are C/C++ and Java

Try going to www.adapower.com, lots of good stuff there!


Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.

Re: a question from a newbie...

[Wes Groleau]

> I heard it either is or used to be used in several
> government agencies, so I know it's gotta be superior in some way.

Either this is a troll or this guy has somehow escaped being brainwashed
by the prevailing "wisdom"

( Most of us have heard it: 
  "Ada has to be a disaster--it's from the government!" )

How come nobody ever says, "________  must be bad or they 
wouldn't be Microsoft's favorite languages."

???

-- 
Wes Groleau
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~wgroleau

Re: a question from a newbie...

[Stanley R. Allen]

David Dousette wrote:
> 
> I'm currently a Computer Science student, and the current languages they are
> pushing on us are C/C++ and Java.  My uncle likes to tell stories of the
> days
> when he programmed in Ada when he was in college and for a while thereafter,


A haertwarming story... Ada passed down through the generatations...
Ada as a Rosicrucian secret... ancient wisdom snatched from Tibetan
mountaintops... grey-haired hermits and fresh-faced acolytes...


-- 
Stanley Allen
mailto:Stanley_R_Allen-NR@raytheon.com