Re: C to ADA translators.

[news.crd.ge.com!e7sa!groleau@uunet.uu.net (Wes Groleau X7574)]

In article <1993Apr6.121615.7936@relay.nswc.navy.mil> bwallet@apssgi.nswc.navy.
mil (Brad Wallet) writes:
>In article <1pq7be$pb6@access.digex.net>, prb@access.digex.com (Pat) writes:
>|> I am looking for a program that will take a fairly clean
>|> C program  and convert it to ADA.  Does anyone know?
>
>And we wonder why Ada projects overrun!  Design and write the code
>in Ada.  I rarely post, and almost never flame anyone, but i am sick
>and tired of contractors writing the code in Fortran (C is a new
>twist on this one) and then running it through a translator.  The
>code that will come out will be hopelessly unmanageable, unreadable,
>and unmaintainable.  I would ask you to post your company so I could
>avoid dealing with it, but, unfortunately, you are far from alone.
>
>Sorry, I guess that was a bit harsh.  .........

Yes, that is harsh.  The practice you flamed is indeed "not good".  But
consider other possibilities:

1. I found some free code in C that meets 95% of my requirements.  I want
to translate to Ada so that I have some hope of meeting the other 5% by my
deadline.  (I was able to make a nice low bid because I knew about this code.)

2. My (non-programmer) systems engineers (in our company, those are the guys
that write the specs and can't distinguish between requirements and 
implementation) want me to incorporate the 16-Kilbyte FORTRAN simulation they
used to develop the spec into the test support software.  Management is not
sympathetic to my desire to re-design something that "already works"

One of the alleged goals of Ada is to promote re-use.  Well, the tons of 
FORTRAN and C that are "out there" provide an excellent opportunity!