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=-1.9 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,FREEMAIL_FROM autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,bc1361a952ec75ca X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2001-07-31 19:24:04 PST Path: archiver1.google.com!newsfeed.google.com!newsfeed.stanford.edu!news-spur1.maxwell.syr.edu!news.maxwell.syr.edu!newsfeed.mathworks.com!cyclone.swbell.net!cyclone-sf.pbi.net!206.13.28.143!news.pacbell.net.POSTED!not-for-mail Message-ID: <3B676974.C80C72E5@sneakemail.com> From: Russ <18k11tm001@sneakemail.com> X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.77 [en] (X11; U; Linux 2.4.3-20mdk i686) X-Accept-Language: en MIME-Version: 1.0 Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Re: How to make Ada a dominant language References: Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2001 19:29:08 -0700 NNTP-Posting-Host: 63.194.87.148 X-Complaints-To: abuse@pacbell.net X-Trace: news.pacbell.net 996632643 63.194.87.148 (Tue, 31 Jul 2001 19:24:03 PDT) NNTP-Posting-Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2001 19:24:03 PDT Organization: SBC Internet Services Xref: archiver1.google.com comp.lang.ada:10906 Date: 2001-07-31T19:29:08-07:00 List-Id: Well, I guess I touched some raw nerves with my proposal to clean up Ada's syntax. I certainly appreciate the feedback. I have come to the conclusion that my first item (eliminating the "end" keyword and making the indentation structure an inherent part of the syntax, as in Python) is NOT a good idea after all. The "end" lines really do help with readability, particularly for long procedures that end on a different page than they started. However, I still stand by the other items in my proposal. I think semicolons should be essentially eliminated, and I think "=" should be used for assignment and named association. I also still think the declaration syntax should be reversed. By the way, someone correctly pointed out that what I am proposing has a lot in common with Fortran 95. Furthermore, I think the idea of having another "dialect" of Ada is an innovative concept with real potential. If you reject it out hand, you simply have a closed mind. Most of the replies I received on this thread were very reasonable. A recurring theme, however, was that syntax is trivial and not worth discussing. I understand that the syntax is not the most important aspect of a language, but that doesn't mean it is not worth discussing or improving. I have a colleague who started programming in Fortran way back in the sixties (maybe even the fifties). He is a master algorithm developer and programmer. His code is meticulously correct, efficient, and minimal. When I introduced him to C and C++ several years ago, he was amazed that he had to clutter his code with all those semicolons and constantly put up with the compiler's nagging when one is left out. He adapted, of course, but his initial reaction was right. All those semicolons are nothing more than a lot of noise. They are litter in your code, and if you never minded them at all, then your code is probably filled with lots of other litter too. If so, I hope it is not being used in any safety-critical systems. Russ Paielli