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=-0.8 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,INVALID_DATE, MSGID_SHORT autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site watdaisy.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!watdaisy!djsalomon From: djsalomon@watdaisy.UUCP (Daniel J. Salomon) Newsgroups: net.ai,net.lang.lisp,net.lang.ada Subject: Re: Thus spake the DoD... Message-ID: <6982@watdaisy.UUCP> Date: Tue, 19-Feb-85 14:09:23 EST Article-I.D.: watdaisy.6982 Posted: Tue Feb 19 14:09:23 1985 Date-Received: Thu, 21-Feb-85 07:35:07 EST References: <417@ssc-vax.UUCP> <676@topaz.ARPA> Organization: U of Waterloo, Ontario Xref: watmath net.ai:2541 net.lang.lisp:329 net.lang.ada:187 List-Id: > There is an escape clause in the Ada promulgation. That allows other > languages to be used for special applications where there is good reason to > do so. At the Common Lisp conference it was said that the ARPA Strategic > Computing project would have Common Lisp as a major language. I think there > is going to be a de facto standard exception for AI programs that let them > be done in Lisp. I think that far too much emphasis has been placed on the need for LISP in AI work. The things that were novel when LISP was introduced are not so rare anymore. Most AI programs written in LISP could be written equally well or better in other languages. The real problem is that there is a large body of AI software written in LISP that will not be easily converted to or rewritten in Ada. The effort would be just too massive. To justify such an endeavor, the benefits of converting them to Ada would have to be enormous. Similarly there is a large group of AI programmers who are experts in LISP who would have to spend (or waste) a great deal of time becoming equally proficient in Ada and building up the same tools and techniques. However similar problems exist in other disciplines. Numerical analysis has traditionally been done in Fortran, and Fortran is considerably more similar to Ada than is LISP. But it will still take a massive amount of effort to convert all the tried and trusted FORTRAN numerical- analysis subroutines into Ada. Any DOD directive requiring the use of Ada will have to have loopholes because instant conversion is impossible and foolish.