Re: Comment on Ada usage

["Marin David Condic" <dont.bother.mcondic.auntie.spam@[acm.org>]

As with most surveys, I suppose it depends on how you do the counting.

Suppose you credit 4-bit and 8-bit computers as "Embedded Computers" and
treat installed volume as the basis for determining the popularity of the
programming language. Since there are a really large number of really small
microcontrollers showing up in just about everything, that could make the
numbers look very different.

In those small machines things like C and probably Forth are going to be
real popular - does Ada even play in that arena? Assembler might rank high
for a number of these devices - but for anything compiled, you need a fairly
small language and I don't think Ada is a good fit there. Apparently the
compiler writers agree because they're staying away from that market in
droves.

While I'd like to see Ada available for really small machines, I don't know
that its ever been done. That would account for an enormously large amount
of disinterest in Ada within that world. You've probably got to get to
16-bit embedded machines (fewer out there than 4 & 8 bit) before Ada even
shows up on the horizon and you've got to get to 32-bit embeded machines
(fewer still) before Ada starts having lots of implementations.

You can't totally ignore a market and then whine that the players in that
market don't like your product. Go after the market or conceed the territory
to C - but don't complain that embedded programmers don't go for Ada unless
you're there to play the game. Given where Embedded.Com is coming from, I
don't doubt that the numbers are somewhere close to accurate.

MDC
--
Marin David Condic
Senior Software Engineer
Pace Micro Technology Americas    www.pacemicro.com
Enabling the digital revolution
e-Mail:    marin.condic@pacemicro.com
Web:      http://www.mcondic.com/


"Wes Groleau" <wwgrol@sparc01.ftw.rsc.raytheon.com> wrote in message
news:3B82CD0B.4A551A42@sparc01.ftw.rsc.raytheon.com...
>
> In embedded systems: ADA [sic] is used less than Forth ?
> http://www.embedded.com/story/OEG20010813S0073
>
> --
> Wes Groleau
> http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~wgroleau