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 autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,1ba8c21ddfbe0b1e X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 1995-01-04 13:40:34 PST Path: nntp.gmd.de!newsserver.jvnc.net!nntpserver.pppl.gov!princeton!gw1.att.com!csn!magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu!math.ohio-state.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!ix.netcom.com!netcomsv!netcomsv!annwfn!annwfn!merlin From: merlin@annwfn.com (Fred McCall) Subject: Re: "Subtract C, add Ada" Date: Wed, 04 Jan 1995 15:40:34 -0600 Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Message-ID: <862035D1F1C@annwfn.com> References: Organization: Is For People Who Don't Have Real Work X-Newsreader: Newsy 0.23 Date: 1995-01-04T15:40:34-06:00 List-Id: In mg@asp.camb.inmet.com Mitch Gart writes: >Ada leaves less room for single-keystroke >errors, such as the common C error of using = (assignment) instead of >== (comparison); I've always been curious. Just *where* is this a "common C error"? I've seen lots of beginners and non-C programmers claim it is, but I don't recall ever hearing of anyone who knew what they were doing (and who was using a real tool -- say, lint -- to check their code) making it. >its type-abstraction facilities reduce the need for >error-prone pointer manipulation; Afraid this one doesn't seem to make sense. How does being able to define a dozen incompatible types of integer "reduce the need for error-prone pointer manipulation"? >and its modular facilities improve >teams' coordination of effort. Both languages are modular. I'm not sure how this is a 'win' unless we're talking about totally inexperienced teams. > >This experience, McCormick notes, "has convinced all my faculty >colleagues to support teaching Ada in our beginning courses. This >spring semester, the first studentw with Ada as their mother tongue >will enroll in my course. I can only imagine what these teams will >accomplish". Well, Ada is certainly a better choice than C for a beginning language to teach design concepts, etc. However, that isn't necessarily saying a whole lot, since that wasn't what C was intended for. I'm also not sure why that would be considered a 'plus', unless the idea behind Ada was to come up with a good language for beginners; that wasn't the idea behind it. -- "Insisting on perfect safety is for people who don't have the balls to live in the real world." -- Mary Shafer, NASA Ames Dryden --------------------------------------------------------------------------- merlin@annwfn.com -- I don't speak for others and they don't speak for me.