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,fe2aecddaa6badba X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 1994-11-18 11:53:43 PST Path: nntp.gmd.de!xlink.net!howland.reston.ans.net!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!paladin.american.edu!auvm!PSAVAX.PWFL.COM!CONDIC Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Message-ID: <9411181718.AA27699@ajpo.sei.cmu.edu> Date: Fri, 18 Nov 1994 12:14:18 EST Sender: Ada programming language From: CONDIC@PSAVAX.PWFL.COM Subject: Re: Let's cover this one more time... Comments: To: INFO-ADA@ajpo.sei.cmu.edu Date: 1994-11-18T12:14:18-05:00 List-Id: From: Marin David Condic, 407.796.8997, M/S 731-93 Subject: Re: Let's cover this one more time... Original_To: PROFS%"SMTP@PWAGPDB" Original_cc: CONDIC Nick Sizemore writes: > Is there some reason, either in priciple or in practice, why such > tools (as opposed to the line by line 'converters') are out of the > question for the project described? I do know of at least one company > locally which used the McCabe tools to re-engineer an Ada system > (i.e., no conversion) and was pleased with the results. Just asking - > I have no vested interest. > It's more of a personal bias - I don't believe that an automated translation of "legacy" code from *any* language to *any other* language is ever going to be done well. By this, I mean you will end up with code that is not very intelligible or will use obscure language constructs to insure correct translation and in general will be more difficult to work with than the original system. (Ever wonder why people generally don't want to mess with the assembler output of a compiler?) Throw on top of it that we are talking about a fairly old and really large body of FORTRAN code to be translated. Sight unseen, most of us would out-of-hand admit that we can do a better job of "engineering" a system today than was originally done back in the mid-70's. Sight seen - I can asure you this is the case. I'd prefer to make the case that it would be more cost effective (say, over five years) to reengineer the system from the ground up than it would be to auto-translate it and spend forever patching the code until it works. Pax, Marin Marin David Condic, Senior Computer Engineer ATT: 407.796.8997 M/S 731-93 Technet: 796.8997 Pratt & Whitney, GESP Internet: CONDICMA@PWFL.COM P.O. Box 109600 Internet: MDCONDIC@AOL.COM West Palm Beach, FL 33410-9600 =============================================================================== "Paranoia is just a kind of awareness, and awareness is just a form of love." -- Charles Manson ===============================================================================