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 autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,92892151eecb310d X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2002-01-18 08:30:17 PST Path: archiver1.google.com!news1.google.com!newsfeed.stanford.edu!news-spur1.maxwell.syr.edu!news.maxwell.syr.edu!sunqbc.risq.qc.ca!falcon.america.net!eagle.america.net.POSTED!not-for-mail Message-ID: <3C484D86.3DA70C2C@otelco.net> From: Larry Hazel X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.78 [en] (Win98; U) X-Accept-Language: en,x-ns11F8K63r3NhQ,x-ns2r2e09OnmPe2 MIME-Version: 1.0 Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Re: Porting Ada to C (Stealth development) References: <3C47375B.8060604@worldnet.att.net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Date: Fri, 18 Jan 2002 10:29:58 -0600 NNTP-Posting-Host: 66.0.32.230 X-Trace: eagle.america.net 1011371314 66.0.32.230 (Fri, 18 Jan 2002 11:28:34 EST) NNTP-Posting-Date: Fri, 18 Jan 2002 11:28:34 EST Organization: 24hoursupport.com Xref: archiver1.google.com comp.lang.ada:19050 Date: 2002-01-18T10:29:58-06:00 List-Id: Dale Pontius wrote: > > In article <3C47375B.8060604@worldnet.att.net>, > Jim Rogers writes: > > Dale Pontius wrote: > > > >> I am taking up some new work, and would like to do it in Ada. However > >> there is a strong 'Do it in C so others can pick it up' bias, which I > >> guess makes some sense. So I'd like to do my development in Ada, and > > > > > > Actually, it makes no sense, but opening that can or worms begins the > > language war. If a person is a competent C programmer he or she should > > be able to learn a new language with minimal effort. My own experience > > is that it was easier to learn Ada, knowing C first, than it was to > > read and understand a lot of C programs. > > > Doesn't matter. This is a rather conservative area, and "C is the way > to program, though perhaps C++ or Java would be OK." Note that this is > also not a programming area, it's silicon design. Sometimes you have > to turn part-time programmer to get the silicon out. This is one of > those. > > ... > >> have the occasional conversion to C to play well with others. This > >> probably needs to be free, as well, since it wouldn't cost money if > >> if I just started the project in C. (Can't justify) I did a quick scan > >> at www.adahome.org without luck. I'll also need to link in C libs, but > >> that should be straightforward and in the documentation. > > > > When you say "play well with others", do you mean that others will > > take over the maintenance of the C pieces, or simply that others will > > want to call the Ada libraries from C? These are really two different > > issues, and should be handled separately. > > > One perpetual concern is, "How does this stuff get maintained when > XXXX moves on?" For that reason, they want a mainstream language, > especially considering (as mentioned above) the programmers here do > it on the side, not as a profession. > > > ... > > Is there already any history of mixed-language development for your > > team? This includes such pieces as shell scripts, perl scripts, > > C++ libraries, or assembler routines. My guess is that your product > > already uses some mixture of C and other languages. This situation > > is not currently a political problem. Try to deal with Ada in this > > light. > > > Obviously yet. Mix of C, C++, ksh, perl, rexx, and I've thrown Python > into the mix. But I suspect Ada is too far out for acceptance. I had > a tough enough time getting VHDL in where needed, and avoiding a > Verilog-only mandate, but only because Verilog couldn't have easily > done that part of the job. The bulk of the HDL is still Verilog, and > the VHDL will get translated after doing its special part. > > As I mentioned on the other subthread, Ada to C, C++, or Java would > probably be equally acceptable. > > Dale Pontius > NOT speaking for IBM The few times I have been required to write in C, I wrote Ada anyway. Then commented out the ada and hand translated to C. The only comments were the Ada code and comments that were originally in the Ada code. Larry