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=0.2 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,INVALID_MSGID, REPLYTO_WITHOUT_TO_CC autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,dab7d920e4340f12 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-Thread: 1014db,dab7d920e4340f12 X-Google-Attributes: gid1014db,public From: system@niuhep.physics.niu.edu Subject: Re: C is 'better' than Ada because... Date: 1996/07/29 Message-ID: <4tijip$rlo@corn.cso.niu.edu>#1/1 X-Deja-AN: 171717227 references: <31daad10.57288085@netline-fddi.jpl.nasa.gov> <31ebfbd7.330061022@netline-fddi.jpl.nasa.gov> <31EE19D1.6977@lfwc.lockheed.com> <31efe069.63062188@netline-fddi.jpl.nasa.gov> <4sopkp$dao@itfhps00.itf.hcsd.ca> <31f3c396.238311543@netline-fddi.jpl.nasa.gov> <01bb78b1$28455ec0$87ee6fce@timpent.airshields.com> <31F613F3.2781E494@escmail.orl.mmc.com> organization: NIU Physics Dept. reply-to: system@niuhep.physics.niu.edu newsgroups: comp.lang.ada,comp.lang.c Date: 1996-07-29T00:00:00+00:00 List-Id: "Tim Behrendsen" writes: >Theodore E. Dennison wrote in article ><31F613F3.2781E494@escmail.orl.mmc.com>... >> Tim Behrendsen wrote: >> You have a good point. Unfortunately, your premise is wrong. Ada is in >> extensive use outside of the Government. In fact it is the language of >> choice wherever a software failure is liable to cause loss of life or a >> very large lawsuit. > >This sounds to me like the "Macintosh" argument; if only the general >public weren't so ignorant, the Macintosh would be the dominant >platform. No actually it sounds more like the OS/2 argument. >Never mind the very real problems with the platform. What are the very real problems with Ada? >> Mine is for languages that are the least error prone, and the easiest >> to track down bugs in. That way, I get to spend my evenings at home >> with my family. >Based on your post, Ada is only appropriate for mission critical >applications, and not for other applications? This is scary, don't you WANT a language that allows you to ship (as) bug-free (as possible) code? Most software houses don't produce mission critical software so they program with what they are comfortable with and never get exposed to Ada ("Ugh, why would you want to learn that?"). >Again, the question, >and I ask this respectfully, "If it's so good, why isn't it used more >universally than it is?" Why don't more people use VMS or OS/2 or ... [ I hope this doesn't start another religious war] >And, if C is so bad (in many people's opinion, >not mine), why is it used almost universally, despite its acknowledged, >real problems? Why was Windows 3.1 used so much? (not a perfect analogy but...) Why are you so prejudiced against Ada? You know next to nothing about it But reading your original post you have essentially already decided what Ada is. Try the Lovelace tutorial at http://lglwww.epfl.ch/Ada/Tutorials/Lovelace/lovelace.html" It will only take a couple of hours and you might learn something. >-- Tim Behrendsen (tim@airshields.com) Robert