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-Thread: 103376,21960280f1d61e84 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2007 05:46:43 +0100 From: Gautier User-Agent: Thunderbird 1.5.0.9 (Windows/20061207) MIME-Version: 1.0 Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Re: How come Ada isn't more popular? References: <1169636785.504223.139630@j27g2000cwj.googlegroups.com> In-Reply-To: Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit NNTP-Posting-Host: 83.76.170.106 X-Original-NNTP-Posting-Host: 83.76.170.106 Message-ID: <45b8361a_5@news.bluewin.ch> X-Trace: news.bluewin.ch 1169700378 83.76.170.106 (25 Jan 2007 05:46:18 +0100) Organization: Bluewin AG Complaints-To: abuse@bluewin.ch X-Original-NNTP-Posting-Host: 127.0.0.1 Path: g2news2.google.com!news4.google.com!news2.volia.net!news.germany.com!ecngs!feeder.ecngs.de!130.59.10.21.MISMATCH!kanaga.switch.ch!news-zh.switch.ch!switch.ch!news.ip-plus.net!newsfeed.ip-plus.net!news.bluewin.ch!not-for-mail Xref: g2news2.google.com comp.lang.ada:8531 Date: 2007-01-25T05:46:43+01:00 List-Id: tmoran@acm.org wrote: >>> Windows 95 was the 1st widely used OS with support for tasking. Ada (95) >>> was the only widely available language with support for tasking at the >>> time. We probably lost a good opportunity to gain more acceptance of Ada >>> by not including a standard windowing library and promoting Ada as the >>> best language for taking advantage of Win95's features. >> Mmmh I think it was a good idea *not* to include a standard windowing >> library: then now Ada would be stuck with an outdated standard >> windowing library. There was also another problem then: the lack of a >> good but cheap or free compiler. > > Actually some of us did try to make a standard Windows library and > promote Ada as the best language for Windows programming (see "CLAW, a > High Level, Portable, Ada 95 Binding for Microsoft Windows" TriAda 1997). > As a matter of fact, it seems everybody who wanted access to the Windows > API designed a standard windowing library - eg GWindows et al. The point is that neither CLAW nor GWindows were included in the Ada standard, and it is a good thing. And promoting Ada for Windows programming in an Ada conference is good, but that won't make that language a lot more popular: you have to make promotion outside the insider circle... > Also, there was the Janus Ada compiler which was pretty cheap at > something like $100, and the early versions of the free Gnat compiler were > coming out at that time. I'm afraid you read a bit too quickly: I discussed about finding a (_good_) and (cheap or free) compiler in 1995. GNAT needed a few years to become really good, IHMO. ______________________________________________________________ Gautier -- http://www.mysunrise.ch/users/gdm/index.htm Ada programming -- http://www.mysunrise.ch/users/gdm/gsoft.htm NB: For a direct answer, e-mail address on the Web site!