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From: SAHARBAUGH@ROO.FIT.EDU
Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada
Subject: Ada Interpreter question
Message-ID: <9106281209.AA08681@ajpo.sei.cmu.edu>
Date: 28 Jun 91 12:06:00 GMT
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List-Id: <comp.lang.ada>

Is NYU Ada/ED defined to be an "Ada Interpreter".  The version
I I used from 1983 to 1987 required a complete processing of the
source code before it would then begin to interpret the
intermediate code it had produced.
In about 1984 Robert Dewar said to me "You really don't expect
to ever be able to interpret Ada code?"
Then a few years later the people at Westinghouse said they
would soon have the ability to interpret the complete Ada
language.  Is their effort the ACE mentioned in the posting?
Is ACE an interpreter by my definition?  ( For a demonstration
of my definition of an interpreter go to your PC and type BASIC).
I hope that a good quality Ada interpreter is available.  I
have always regretted that I am not skilled enough to write one.
You see, I am a systems engineer and I have really believed
in programmable systems ever since I met my first one
in the early 60's. The whole idea of edit, compile, link,
download and run is, to me, an expedient that we must outgrow
if computers are to be truly useful. As an example scenario,
for tutorial purposes only, imagine a manned deep space exploration
with all on-board software in Ada.  Imagine a need to reprogram
the software.  The crew must be have all the baggage of the
compiler etc. plus the skills to use them or, if the computers
are truly Ada machines, the crew can change the Ada statements and
immediately the computer changes its behavior.
Since I learned of ACE I thought that this was a very good
thing to do.  The idea that the machine understands my language, Ada,
would be very good.  If I can type in an Ada statement as a command
to ACE is there any reason I can't type in my whole Ada program
and have ACE interpret it?  Efficiency is usually cited as
the downside of interpreters and thats the show stopper for the
systems built by people who read this BB. BUT there are many
applications for computers that afford to be "inefficient". If the
machine will run say 100 Ada statements per second I can use
that machine to control many industrial processes and I don't need
to drive 50 miles back to my office to recompile the Ada to change a
plus sign to a minus sign.(Thats when you learn how to patch
object code). I'm sure you see the same situation on a ship at sea, etc.
So, in conclusion, I would like to know if ACE is a true Ada interpreter
and some measure of its speed performance. Thanks.
sam harbaugh saharbaugh@ROO.FIT.EDU        
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