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,bd45e29f9dafca87 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public From: Brian Rogoff Subject: Re: bitwise comparators Date: 2000/01/17 Message-ID: #1/1 X-Deja-AN: 573815039 References: <3880D375.7E363123@hotmail.com> <38829638.0@news.pacifier.com> <3882FC1C.2BA8C959@hotmail.com> Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII X-Trace: nntp1.ba.best.com 948128279 217 bpr@206.184.139.136 MIME-Version: 1.0 Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Date: 2000-01-17T00:00:00+00:00 List-Id: On Mon, 17 Jan 2000, Mike Silva wrote: > Alexander Van Hecke wrote in message <3882FC1C.2BA8C959@hotmail.com>... > >...IMHO Ada takes a lot longer to learn, there are more constructs, > >keywords, etc... In a word, the language is more complicated, yet not > >necessarily more powerfull (hope I don't get flamed for this :-)). In C > you'd > >have one while loop, and you'd put your condition in the while expression > and > >that's it. Nothing more to learn about it! > >What's your opinion on this? > > > Since by your tone I think this is a genuine question and not a stinkbomb, > here's an off-the-cuff list of Ada features I find "more powerful" than C > (my primary language): > > Strong typing > Multitasking > Generics > Tagged Types > Packages > Exceptions > Discriminants > Arrays indexed over arbitrary ranges, including enumerations > Much greater control over variable range and representation > Runtime error checking C is also my primary language, and at the risk of annoying Robert Eachus :-), let me add "nested subprograms" to your list. And the ability to have local arrays whose dimension depends on a local or parameter. And ... I agree with Alexander that Ada is a larger language and to learn all of its features is much harder than to learn all of the features of C, but I've found it a much more rewarding language as well. If you're comfortable with C, just start with the C level subset of Ada and add knowledge as you need it. With Ada 95, you really do have all of the features of C worth having. The only downside is that Ada is so nice that its minor flaws look awful (e.g. lack of in/out function params) whereas in C and kin there are so many flaws that even the big ones don't bother me much ;-). -- Brian > C may be one of the harder languages from which to learn Ada, since C is so > forgiving (encouraging?) of "write now, think later" coding. With Ada if > you try this (and what C programmer hasn't, in the beginning?) you'll just > find yourself entangled in web of compiler errors. It's frustrating, but it > soon becomes clear that those errors are really questions that the language > is asking you -- most of which you must answer anyway (whatever your > language) to solve your problem, while other Ada-specific questions (such as > typing issues) are there to help keep you from making the careless mistakes > that often makes programming in C an asymptotic exercise. Ada, being a > language that likes to have all its ducks in a row, just asks you to answer > all these questions sooner. > > HTH (from somebody who was where you are very recently) > > Mike > > > >