Re: simple question on long_float/short_float

["Peter C. Chapin" <chapinp@acm.org>]

On 2010-09-30 20:29, Nasser M. Abbasi wrote:

> This trend to update computer languages every few years seems to result
> in a language first starting as simple, with the basic features, then it
> gets more and more complicated and bloated as more features are stuffed
> in it to make it more cool and modern. With time computer languages
> become too complex to understand by mere mortals, unless one has a PhD
> in computer science.

I agree there definitely is that trend. Of course part of the problem is
that old features can only be removed with extreme difficulty since most
language communities want backward compatibility. Thus the "size" of a
language tends to be a monotonically increasing function of time.

In fact, this is one reason why I appreciate Ada. Although the language
is large and complicated, my perception is that new features are added
to it conservatively and only after extensive deliberation. I'm not
saying other communities don't deliberate extensively as well, but it
seems like some languages (C++?) grow more quickly than is good for them.

Also Ada has a mechanism (pragma Restrictions) where one can selective
remove features from the language depending on one's needs. I don't know
of any other language that offers a standard way to make it smaller.

Finally there is SPARK. The language itself is actually quite simple and
basic. Of course fully using the annotations and doing all the
associated proofs introduces its own complexity, but much of that could
be skipped if desired.

Peter