Re: Linux Kernel in Ada. Repost

[Bruce MacDonald <microbards@my-dejanews.com>]

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Although I hate people who don�t edit down the post that they are responding
to, the signal to noise ratio is so high in Dr. Dewar�s note that I have to
let it all stand.

I agree that �C style� Ada is anathema. I had planned to translate and then
rewrite. I hadn�t even considered the �mixed C and Ada� incremental approach
you mention. This, of course, is the �right� approach. (It is the
embarrassment of missing the obvious that keeps me lurking in cla instead of
participating.)

The goal of the project is not to prove that Ada is �better� than C. I fear
those in need of more proof will never accept it. That some people writing
software do not accept the idea of letting the computer do most of the work
for you (by pointing out your errors) is a bad omen.

The goal is not to unseat Bill Gates or Linus Torvolds; they do what they do
very well.

The goal of the project is to save the instructor, of the introductory OS
course that will use the kernel, the hassle of debugging student C (a
superset of ANSI C) when what he or she wants to do is teach operating system
principles.

Bruce MacDonald


In article <7ep6kp$nv3$1@nnrp1.dejanews.com>,
  Robert Dewar <robert_dewar@my-dejanews.com> wrote:

> Even if C2Ada were a fully capable C-to-Ada translator,
> which it is not, it would be totally useless for this
> project.
>
> I cannot imagine a worse excercise than to reproduce the
> Linux Kernel in C-style Ada.
>
> If people want to do this, the challenge is to redesign
> at all levels of abstraction in elegant Ada style. A tool
> for automatic translation just gets in the way of this
> goal.
>
> Note that if you use GNAT here, you have extremely easy
> integration with gcc-C which is of course what Linux uses.
> You don't have to rewrite the entire kernel.
>
> Instead, just take some sample modules and really work hard
> on those to demonstrate the advantages of Ada style.
>
> Then you can demonstrate that your code works by mixing it
> in with the C code for other parts of the kernel.
> Eventually of course you might replace more, most, or all
> of the C code.
>
> But the point is that this is then a nice incremental
> project with a working system at every stage of the game,
> which can be a nice demonstration of Ada right away.
>
> Don't just think of a project like this as being aimed at
> showing that Linux can be written in Ada, of course it can.
> Anything can be written in any language, and it proves
> nothing.
>
> The goal is to show examples that back up the claim of
> Ada being preferable to C for this kind of programming.
>
> Robert Dewar


What doesn't kill you, makes you bitter and cynical.

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