Re: 'Cyclone', a safer C--reinventing the wheel

["chris.danx" <chris.danx@ntlworld.com>]

"Ehud Lamm" <mslamm@mscc.huji.ac.il> wrote in message
news:9tfrtg$rkl$1@news.huji.ac.il...
> chris.danx <chris.danx@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
> news:RsyK7.1377$6W6.439742@news2-win.server.ntlworld.com...
> >
> > It was the tone of the post (which I may have taken the wrong way) that
> > seemed to convey the "mine's a superior language" belief.  I appologise
if
> > that's not Marc's intention.  I make no appologies though, for
> highlighting
> > my distaste at the recent "trend".
> >
>
>
> Chris,
>
> I think there is no trend. There always were posts of this nature and
always
> will be, but the majority of discussions here are focused on getting
things
> done in Ada. That's exactly what they should be about.

I agree in part.  It's ok to discuss the merits of Ada, but it is not ok to
bash a language to glorify (for lack of a better word, you know what I mean)
Ada.  The New Scientist article *may have been* bit biased but it's one
article, the cyclone site doesn't give that impression though (IMO).


> In fact, my feeling is that there is a trend of increased interest in
doing
> useful small scale development in Ada: so many posting are about tool and
> libraries (GtkAda, XML, COM support etc.)

That is good, and Ada is a good language.

That is not what i'm complaining about, it's the *persistant* C bashing (or
C decendant bashing) in this group, which rears it's head now and again.
I'm no fan of C (for some reason I can't program in it, no matter what I
do), but bashing it all the time is pointless.  Maybe it makes ppl feel
secure, but a closed mind is bad.  What happens if a language comes about
that has the superior gains (in respect to development time, maintainance
costs, program correctness, etc) compared to Ada?  (some interesting
languages already exist which *may* offer gains, but it's subjective as to
what counts as 'better' so I won't mention any of these *interesting*
languages, and some folk have probably heard of them anyway).  Someone with
an open mind would atleast consider looking at such a language.  I don't get
the sense that this would happen.  I'm not suggesting everyone jump ship,
just consider that other languages exist and don't slag them off just
because they aren't the language you program in.

I think the ppl behind Cyclone recognise that there are better ways of doing
things, and that it's hard to get these ideas across to ppl.  They're trying
to get these ideas across to C programmers using what those programmers know
already.  Don't bash them for it.


Goodnight,
Chris