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=-1.3 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,INVALID_MSGID autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,4873305131bf4d94 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-Thread: 1014db,4873305131bf4d94 X-Google-Attributes: gid1014db,public X-Google-Thread: 109fba,4873305131bf4d94 X-Google-Attributes: gid109fba,public X-Google-Thread: 10261c,90121986704b5776 X-Google-Attributes: gid10261c,public X-Google-Thread: 10c950,90121986704b5776 X-Google-Attributes: gid10c950,public X-Google-Thread: fdb77,4873305131bf4d94 X-Google-Attributes: gidfdb77,public From: mrcope@primenet.com (Mike Copeland) Subject: Re: ADA and Pascal SUCK, C,C++, and Java are the only languages you need!! Date: 1997/10/29 Message-ID: #1/1 X-Deja-AN: 285805100 References: <34557f2b.1934172@news.mindspring.com> <34566fe9.447229@news.mindspring.com> <345673af.1413708@news.mindspring.com> <3456b9f3.0@news.eznet.net> <3456e71b.3833189@news.mindspring.com> Organization: Copeland Computer Services X-Posted-By: @206.165.22.228 (mrcope) Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada,comp.lang.c,comp.lang.c++,comp.lang.java.advocacy,comp.lang.pascal.ansi-iso,comp.lang.pascal.misc Date: 1997-10-29T00:00:00+00:00 List-Id: This has almost nothing to do with the "ease of learning" either language (and I feel C/C++ is much harder to do so than Pascal), but by some other factors: 1. The portability issue. C/C++ are basically portable across platforms, and this is an extremely important issue to corporate thinking. It's more important to the executives/decision makers of most companies that their key applications can be moved to other vendor's hardware when financial issues force such switches, than to have implementation languages which their programmers like and find easy to learn. 2. Pascal and Ada (which is often called a highly enriched Pascal) weren't designed as application development vehicles - whereas C/C++ were. Pascal was invented as a teaching tool for structured and module problem solving, to show and overcome the faults of weakly typed and inherently undisciplined coding languages of the past (e.g. COBOL, ForTran, BASIC, assembler, etc.). There was almost no thought given to I/o, databases, strings, and performance issues with Wirth's Pascal, and he designed the language to teach the initial concepts of program correctness, and modular design. It wasn't until Borland marketed Turbo Pascal (which they didn't initially write) that Pascal became a real implementation tool, instead of the "teaching toy" it really was. However, Pascal is almost non-existent in the business environment, regardless of how many hobbiests and PC programmers make effective use of it....sigh Ada, OTOH, was designed for implementation of secure and fail-safe systems for the Government. It was based on Pascal concepts (very strong typing, modularity, consistency, etc.), but was taken much farther than was useful to the general world. Learning Ada should be considered an educational experience, at best, because no one uses it. And I agree it's very hard to learn and work with, even coming from a Pascal background. Nonetheless, Ada provides some interesting and useful things for any serious programmer to think about and use in his/her work. > Then why do the want ads for C, C++ programmers could stretch from > here to the moon, while Ada/Pascal programmers are nonexistent? Like > I said, if you program in Ada or Pascal, your best job is going to be > taking orders at Red Lobster. > > >The problem with ADA is that it is rejected by the hacker cult that started > >out on C. Mean while C & C++ have been rejected by anybody who has to > >ship a product under tight deadlines and high quality expectations. i.e. > >anyone working for a corporation. >