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=-0.3 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00, REPLYTO_WITHOUT_TO_CC autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,595cecf596072e80 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public Path: controlnews3.google.com!news1.google.com!newshub.sdsu.edu!elnk-nf2-pas!newsfeed.earthlink.net!stamper.news.pas.earthlink.net!newsread2.news.pas.earthlink.net.POSTED!01cc3b7c!not-for-mail Reply-To: "Richard Riehle" From: "Richard Riehle" Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada References: <058ta057iumjnbj5cbdpcskvjb39vmtt2h@4ax.com> <40af5f9d$0$255$edfadb0f@dread16.news.tele.dk> <_bLrc.93133$dP1.296024@newsc.telia.net> <2hj035Fde12lU1@uni-berlin.de> <2004526-101843-843603@foorum.com> <27145927.nZCqhEjHl9@linux1.krischik.com> Subject: Re: Why I like Ada X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2800.1409 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2800.1409 Message-ID: Date: Sun, 30 May 2004 18:06:18 GMT NNTP-Posting-Host: 66.81.222.234 X-Complaints-To: abuse@earthlink.net X-Trace: newsread2.news.pas.earthlink.net 1085940378 66.81.222.234 (Sun, 30 May 2004 11:06:18 PDT) NNTP-Posting-Date: Sun, 30 May 2004 11:06:18 PDT Organization: EarthLink Inc. -- http://www.EarthLink.net Xref: controlnews3.google.com comp.lang.ada:934 Date: 2004-05-30T18:06:18+00:00 List-Id: "David Starner" wrote in message news:pan.2004.05.26.19.11.04.359100@email.ro... ... in response to a conversation about debugging C versus Ada, > Why do you think it's a function of programming language? It may be at > a different level, but you can replace divisions with bit-twiddling, > structured code with hyperoptimized gotos, or manually inline code in > Ada just like C. I don't know how much Ada, C, or C++ you have written, but I am going to assume you have written quite a lot of each. Back in the 1908's, when I first started coding Ada, I found myself constantly checking up on myself by resorting to the debugger, pretty much the same thing I did with my C code. In time, I realized that I needed the debugger less and less with Ada. This does not mean it is never necessary to use the debugger. In fact, I still like to use the debugger as an informational tool (what kind of code is being generated) rather than an error-correction tool. With C++, I find myself going into debug mode much more than with Ada. This is especially true when I am trying to figure out what is going on with a misbehaving C++ program written by someone else. Perhaps this is because I am more comfortable with Ada than with C++. Even so, when I do need to debug Ada code, it is much easier, for me, than debugging C++ code. So, for me, language does matter. I am more and more becoming concerned with the notion of risk in software engineering. The more I compare the relative risks of programming languages, the more I realize that Ada, for me, is not as risk-laden as most of the alternatives. That is, it seems easier to create risk-free code in Ada than in C or C++, while achieving the same level of performance and flexibility. Of course, your mileage may vary. Richard Riehle