Re: Ada suitablity as a game dev language

["Dmitry A. Kazakov" <mailbox@dmitry-kazakov.de>]

On 22 Nov 2004 03:45:22 +0100, Jeff Houck wrote:

> Greetings Ada NG,
> I'm new to Ada but have 15+ years background in C/C++ and x86
> assembly. I skipped Pascal and Java(yuk)and have used the usual 
> scripting languages, Perl, Python, Tcl/Tk, etc...
> 
> I'm bored with coding C/C++ and would like to try something new... 8^)

You are not alone... (:-))

> Anyway, I'm really intrigued by Ada and I'd like to "go out on a
> limb" and see how Ada measures up to C/C++ for game development. I'm
> thinking about both the 2D and 3D regimes, such as an isometric style
> game in 2D and a FPS for 3D.
> 
> You don't see Ada mentioned anywhere (that I know of) in game 
> development circles. Is there a specific reason why?

The same reason why it isn't mentioned anywhere else. So it is not
specific.

> I'd like to hear from any in this NG with an opinion or insight on the 
> subject. Thx!

I believe that Ada might be very promising for game development. What comes
in mind first is:

1. Ada has much more carefully designed numeric model than C++. 3D graphics
requires a lot of non-trivial computations.

2. Ada is highly portable. Games are usually developed for many platforms.

3. Ada has integrated tasking. Real-time strategy, simulation games etc.

4. Ada requires much less debugging. Games are large and complex software
products with a very short testing phase.

-- 
Regards,
Dmitry A. Kazakov
http://www.dmitry-kazakov.de