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From: gwinn@res.ray.com (Joe Gwinn)
Subject: Re: ada and robots
Date: 1997/06/17
Message-ID: <gwinn-1706972224170001@dh5055155.res.ray.com>#1/1
X-Deja-AN: 249309133
References: <97060510114032@psavax.pwfl.com>
 <339C1ECF.431B@mlb.cca.rockwell.com> <339E143A.349D@dynamite.com.au>
 <gwinn-1006971856380001@dh5055139.res.ray.com> <dewar.866044235@merv>
Organization: Raytheon Electronic Systems
Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada
Date: 1997-06-17T00:00:00+00:00
List-Id: <comp.lang.ada>


Robert,

In article <dewar.866044235@merv>, dewar@merv.cs.nyu.edu (Robert Dewar) wrote:

> <<There were some Ada compilers that did direct hardware OK, but the code
> wasn't portable between Ada compilers.  One could have made many of them
> work anyway, but why would you?  Portability was one of the major reasons
> for use of Ada.  It was simpler to use assembly for those few bits that
> touched I/O registers.
> >>
> 
> 
> If you are willing to speak specifics rather than generalities it would be
> useful. The generalizations you make are quite incorrect, but it is hard
> to argue against vague stuff.
> 
> Please demonstrate with VERY SPECIFIC CODE (not some vague reference to
> libraries of device drivers) an example of the kind of portable C code
> that you are talking about -- hopefully you are talking about ANSI C
> code, or at least C code that is well defined in traditional C.
> 
> People often make these vague claims, often they come from people who
> know very little about the technical details of Ada, but when we see
> actual code, we almost always find that the situation in C and
> Ada with respect to such support is essentially identical.

Really, I don't plan to get into such a down in the bits argument; I
haven't the time or energy or reason to fight with you.  Even if I won,
what would I have to show for it?  Fails cost-benefit analysis: All cost,
no benefit.

I do know what my experience has been over the years, and these problems
are echoed by a number of other posters.  If you disagree with my
experience, I'm very sorry, but my experience is what it is.

I would comment that I have been able over the years to get Ada to do many
things then thought impossible by the simple expedient of not asking Ada
to do things she is not well suited to, all hope and hype to the contrary
nonwitstanding.  I have accumulated a list from the days of Ada83.  Many
of these things are nominally fixed in Ada95, which is good, but maturity
takes time, even in compilers.  A little skepticism can go a long way.

Joe Gwinn