Re: status of Ada STL?

[dennison@telepath.com (Ted Dennison)]

18k11tm001@sneakemail.com (Russ) wrote in message news:<bebbba07.0206162107.5cf737c@posting.google.com>...
> Ted Dennison <dennison@telepath.com> wrote in message news:<3D0D18D5.2020601@telepath.com>...
> >   decisions (eg: not using similar looking operators like "==" and "=") 
> Take a look at how Python handles the "=" vs. "==" "problem". They

Perhaps. But that still does not get around the fact that you are
using "=" for something that isn't equality, and a completely made up
operator for something that *is* equality. Why is it not better to use
"=" in its proper mathematical sense? ("because I'm used to that"
isn't a good answer)

> And I must say that I am getting tired of people claiming that I want
> to "make Ada look more like C". How does the lack of semicolons

Actually, you are exactly right here. I'm sorry for misreading your
spec. Please replace every occurance of "C" in my post with "Python".

> misleading. But I hear it so much that I wonder if some Ada folks
> aren't obsessed with envy over the popularity of C and C++.

Actually, the point is that we *aren't*. I don't really care how C++
or C or Python or Oberon represents equality, any more than most of
those folks care how Ada does it. Languages have different syntaxes.
In Ada's case, most of it was quite thourougly thought out and
discussed, and I seriously doubt you have come up with any startlingly
new option that wasn't available to the original Ada designers. But
either way, its just syntax.

Every year it seems someone comes in here with a great idea to
suddenly make Ada immensley popular by making a dozen minor cosmetic
changes to the syntax so that it matches some other language (that
they happen to be used to). I suspect the *real* goal in such cases is
that said person just got used to the other syntax, and doesn't want
to have to adjust to Ada. So instead of working with the language,
they try to drag the mountain to Mohhamed.

Anyway, go ahead and drag away. But don't expect any help from folks
who are currently happily using the language as it is.