Re: Difference between ADA and c++

[dewar@merv.cs.nyu.edu (Robert Dewar)]

Nasser quotes

<<C and C++ have become more cost-effective. The costs and quality
advantages Ada has enjoyed over C and C++ have almost disappeared
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
as these languages have become more widely used. The only application
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
domain where Ada currently seems to hold a cost advantage is airborne
and spaceborne avionics.">>


It is always entertaining when someone says "the jury is out", and then
proceeds to appoint themselves as the lord high replacement jury, and
make a ex-cathedra judgment with no data.

In fact nothing significant has changed in C and C++ that would make
them more eeffective in generating high quality code, so that implication

is certainly bogus. If the point is that C++ compilers have become cheaper,
true, but hardly significant.

At this stage, the cost of the compiler tool suite is not a significant
factor in choice between Ada and C++ (for example, the tool suites from
SGI are pretty much identical in cost).

Furthermore, now that costs of high quality Ada technology has dropped
substantially, the cost of these tools is not usually a very significant
part of the costs of a large project, certainly it pales compared to the
costs of generating unreliable code.