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From: fjh@mundook.cs.mu.OZ.AU (Fergus Henderson)
Subject: Re: C is 'better' than Ada because...
Date: 1996/07/18
Message-ID: <4sla71$b7g@mulga.cs.mu.OZ.AU>#1/1
X-Deja-AN: 169649944
references: <JSA.96Jul5145911@organon.com> <dewar.836572544@schonberg>
 <31E402B4.55EC@csehp3.mdc.com> <4se1cl$mp@salyko.cube.net>
 <4sgeme$r32@salyko.cube.net> <4skpgu$ta@mulga.cs.mu.OZ.AU>
organization: Comp Sci, University of Melbourne
newsgroups: comp.lang.ada
Date: 1996-07-18T00:00:00+00:00
List-Id: <comp.lang.ada>


fraser@mundook.cs.mu.OZ.AU (Fraser Wilson) writes:

>okellogg@cube.net (Oliver Kellogg) writes:
>
>>	#include <string.h>
>>	char *replicate (char c, int times)
>>	{
>>	  char *buffer = (char *) malloc (times);
>>	  return (char *) memset (buffer, c, times);
>>	}
>
>>is not that much less elegant either :-)
>
>Well, that's a matter of taste.  I prefer the Ada version -- the C one
>has a lot of really ugly low-level stuff.  I mean, typecasts?

Neither of the typecasts in the above example are necessary.
It could be rewritten as

	#include <string.h>
	#include <stdlib.h>
	char *replicate (char c, int times)
	{
	  return memset (malloc (times), c, times);
	}

However, the fact that the Ada version works whereas
the C version is buggy is a pretty strong argument...
the C version won't look nearly as elegant once
you've fixed the two bugs.

--
Fergus Henderson <fjh@cs.mu.oz.au>   |  "I have always known that the pursuit
WWW: <http://www.cs.mu.oz.au/~fjh>   |  of excellence is a lethal habit"
PGP: finger fjh@128.250.37.3         |     -- the last words of T. S. Garp.