Re: memory management and productivity

["Robert I. Eachus" <rieachus@comcast.net>]

Russ wrote:

> Are you saying that an Ada compiler can implement GC or not? That
> seems a bit inconsistent to me. How can the same language have it both
> ways? What if someone tries to port an Ada application that has its
> own memory management to an Ada compiler that already has it by
> default? I would think you would at least want it controlled by a
> compilation flag or some something.

Symbolics had an Ada compiler for their systems, which had global 
garbage collection.  I'm not sure about the R1000 Rational hardware.

But in any case, this has been the history of global garbage collection 
in Ada.  If the OS supports it, the compiler will do what is necessary 
to run in that environment.  But it is seen more as an extra development 
cost than a desired feature.  (I'm not saying that is why Symbolics went 
bankrupt.  But if there was a big market for Ada with garbage 
collection, Symbolics might still be in business.)

-- 

                                           Robert I. Eachus

"Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality 
can prevail in exclusion of religious principles." -- George Washington