Re: Any Ada95 Class Libs?

[dweller@dfw.net (David Weller)]

Preface:  Originally, I was just going to privately reply, but I felt
this was publicly relevant, so...

In article <326E34A8.167E@itd.sterling.com>,
Paul Williams  <paul_williams@itd.sterling.com> wrote:
>arguments against Ada95 except those related to its immaturity.  One
>recurring argument is that there are no Ada95 class libraries available.
>Before I concede on this issue, can anyone identify any browsable class
>libraries implementing fundamental objects in Ada95??
>

I'm a little confused by your statement.  FIrst of all, "browsable"
means different things to different people.  TO a Smalltalker, it
means all classes can be viewed and built into a system by means of a
class browser.  To a C++er, it would mean that the man pages are
available :-)

Also, I need to understand more what you mean by "class library".
Certainly there's the work I'm doing with the Booch Components, which
will be available very early in Dec (see http://www.ocsystems.com/booch/ 
for more details.).

I certainly agree with you that the lack of a class library is a
near-deplorable condition.  One which I'm rapidly trying to repair :-)
One pressing issue in the C++ community is, of course, the Standard
Template Library.  Dave Musser and some of his grad students are
working on an Ada 95 implementation of STL, but it's in the early
stages.  I'm currently working on a project (in C++) which uses the
STL, but I"m not entirely convinced emulating the STL in Ada is the
right thing to do.  There's other ways to do what the STL does, but it
requires a fundamentally different approach.  In the meantime, I'd
like to think the component work I'm doing will serve as a reasonable
set for now.

To give a little more balance to all this, there are other "component
libraries" out there, including a very thorough set written by Jack
Beidler.  Start at www.adahome.com to find out more.


-- 
    Visit the Ada 95 Booch Components Homepage: www.ocsystems.com/booch
     This is not your father's Ada -- www.adahome.com <== Note new URL!

-- 
    Visit the Ada 95 Booch Components Homepage: www.ocsystems.com/booch
     This is not your father's Ada -- www.adahome.com <== Note new URL!