Re: STL, Ada, C++ (Was Re: The Next Microsoft?)

[Richard D Riehle <laoXhai@ix.netcom.com>]

In article <t7og6gahgm.fsf@calumny.jyacc.com>,
	Hyman Rosen <hymie@prolifics.com> wrote:

>Robert Dewar <robert_dewar@my-deja.com> writes:
>> I am not at all convinced that automatic instantiation is
>> a help to the reader and maintainer, on the contrary, it
>> seems very awkward to have uses of templates not be visible
>> from this point of view.
>
>I consider automatic instantiation of templates to be the compile-time
>polymorphism equivalent of run-time dispatching on class-wide types.
>When you make a dispatching call, you do not know what function you
>are calling. Similarly, you should be able to call a generic function
>without explicitly stating which one you are calling.

I wonder if there is a trade-off here between convenience and type
safety.  Ada tends to lean heavily in the direction of safety,
and automatic instantiation seems not quite as focused on that issue.
For example, the model for generic formal package parameters in Ada
forces the designer to create a generic signature package corresponding to
the parameter.  This makes automatic instantiation quite difficult to
achieve, but has the benefit of pretty thorough compile-time evaluation
of all the elements of the signature.  

The goals of C++ are different from those of Ada.  If a programmer feels
more comfortable with C++ goals, then C++ is a good choice.  If someone
feels better with the goals of Ada, then Ada should be the choice.  Also,
those goals are intended to satisfy different levels of confidence in the
final product.  Would anyone who knows C++ well feel comfortable knowing the
software for the avionics on their aircraft was programmed in C++?  Most 
of those I ask, say, "No way."   Ada is targeted to exactly that kind of
application environment.  Scaling back a bit from that extreme, Ada still
inspires a greater sense of confidence in its goals than C++ when safety
is an issue.  Automatic instantiation does not inspire confidence, but that
may not matter if a software failure does not kill or maim anyone.  

Richard Riehle