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=-1.9 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00 autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Thread: 103376,a0be06fbc0dd71f1 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public,usenet X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit Path: g2news1.google.com!news4.google.com!feeder3.cambrium.nl!feeder5.cambrium.nl!feeder1.cambrium.nl!feed.tweaknews.nl!newsfeed.utanet.at!newsfeed01.chello.at!newsfeed02.chello.at!news.inode.at.POSTED!not-for-mail From: Agyaras Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Re: The future of Ada is at risk References: <20071229040639.f753f982.coolzone@it.dk> User-Agent: MT-NewsWatcher/3.5.2 (PPC Mac OS X) Date: Fri, 04 Jan 2008 09:45:15 +0100 Message-ID: X-Complaints-To: abuse@inode.at NNTP-Posting-Host: 85.127.93.90 (85.127.93.90) NNTP-Posting-Date: Fri, 04 Jan 2008 09:45:11 +0100 X-Trace: 515b0477df217f0daf8ff30680 Xref: g2news1.google.com comp.lang.ada:19187 Date: 2008-01-04T09:45:15+01:00 List-Id: > The GNU GNAT Compiler is the only Open Source compiler, and > it lacks proper support and implementation on a variety of platforms. I can confirm this. E.g. it is a major headache to get the GNAT compiler working under Mac OS X. AdaCore stopped distributing GNAT/GPS (GPL) for the Mac. There has never been a GNAT/GPS package for Solaris AFAIK. etc.etc. Ada and the Open Source community:- there are several problems. 1) Perception. Ada is still perceived as "the Pentagon language", and is associated in many people's minds with "evil". This perception is very difficult to change. 2) Complexity. Ada has been designed for large, complex, reliable software systems. Most open source projects are smaller and it is not worth the effort to use Ada: or would you use a tractor in your garden behind your house? 3) The quick-and-dirty mentality. This is very widespread in the current IT world. Deadline pressure leads to q&d coding, hence the popularity of dynamic script languages that promise rapid results. Goes completely against the Ada philosophy. 4) Ada limitations. Certain aspects of Ada are painfully clumsy. The three string libs, unnecessary multitude of I/O libs, primitive exception handling, constructors are not part of the language, finalization is an afterthought,.... 5) Lack of libraries and frameworks. This is due to the unpopularity of the language. Ada needs at least a relational DB binding *that works* with the current open-source RDBMS-es (as opposed to Gnade), she needs a good scientific library, she needs simple but powerful string handling, just to name a few. The catch-22 is that nobody will develop these until there's strong demand for Ada-based s/w, and there won't be strong demand until the libs are available. cheers,A -- "Non est volentis, neque currentis, sed miserentis Dei"