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- Path: kuhub.cc.ukans.edu!anh
- From: anh@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu
- Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada,comp.lang.c,comp.lang.c++
- Subject: Re: C/C++ knocks the crap out of Ada
- Message-ID: <1996Feb10.111307.113714@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu>
- Date: 10 Feb 96 11:13:07 CST
- References: <00001a73+00002504@msn.com> <4etcmm$lpd@nova.dimensional.com> <BYERLY_J.96Feb7170158@srm9.motsat.sat.mot.com>
- Organization: University of Kansas Academic Computing Services
-
- Hello,
-
- Please list a few strong points of ADA as compared to C/C++. What is
- the signature of an ADA program? I am seriously interested in ADA. Thank-you.
-
- Anh
-
- In article <BYERLY_J.96Feb7170158@srm9.motsat.sat.mot.com>, byerly_j@srm9.motsat.sat.mot.com (John Byerly) writes:
- > In article <4etcmm$lpd@nova.dimensional.com> cjames@melchizedek.cec-services.com (The Right Reverend Colin James III) writes:
- >
- >> KMays@msn.com (Kenneth Mays) posted with deletions:
- >>
- > *snip*
- >
- >> C/C++ is also superior for six, very practical reasons:
- >>
- >> 1. C/C++ compilers which are industrial quality with professional
- >> support are cheaper than the expensive, vendor-gouging Ada ones;
- >
- > C/C++ is cheaper than Ada. Does that mean that it is superior to Ada? If so, let's
- > follow the logic and grab a freeware compiler of some language, since it would be
- > (by your logic) more superior to C/C++.
- >
- > The cost of the tool has NO relation to its effectivness. If it did, one should
- > always (or never, depending on your point of view) use GNU tools.
- >
- >> 2. C/C++ libraries, tools, environments, and add-ons are more
- >> plentiful and cheaper than the fewer, much more expensive Ada ones;
- >
- > More developers, producing more products does not make the tool used for production
- > a better tool. Several years ago, there were more Basic and FORTRAN tools and
- > environments available than for C++, so they were obviously better languages (by
- > your logic).
- >
- >> 3. C/C++ has hundreds more vendors, trainers, support organizations,
- >> and books written about it than Ada; in fact, there is still not a
- >> single, excellent textbook about programming in Ada;
- >
- > Hmm. It seems to me that Booch has written a pretty good book. Can you really
- > support that assertion?
- >
- >> 4. C/C++ is taught in many hundreds more colleges and universities
- >> than is Ada: virtually every community college has a course in C/C++
- >> programming; virtually no community colleges teach Ada.
- >
- > It doesn't necessarily follow that, because there are fewer courses taught in
- > Ada than C/C++, Ada is the inferior language. It MAY be true that, since Ada is
- > an inferior language, not many courses are available for it. Your logic is
- > flawed.
- >
- >> 5. C/C++ jobs are more in demand and plentiful and easier to get and
- >> in hundreds more US geographic areas than Ada jobs;
- >
- > Yes, and burger flipping jobs are even more plentiful than C/C++ jobs. Once again,
- > this has NO bearing on how effective a tool is.
- >
- >> 6. ANSI C code is portable to thousands more discrete platforms than
- >> is Ada (at about 900 platforms, counting some multiple times).
- >
- > Your argument is backwards. You can't use the above items to make your point.
- > The fact that a tool is widely available, cheap, portable, etc., may be true
- > because the tool is excellent. Or all these things may simply indicate
- > aggressive marketing done by the tool's supporters.
- >
- >> How about popular interest among techies: comp.lang.c and
- >> comp.lang.c++ have about 20-times more articles posted daily than does
- >> comp.lang.ada.
- >
- > Actually, this may just be an indicator of the difference in numbers of
- > active developers.
- >
- >> Also, compare the quality of articles posted: comp.lang.ada has a few
- >> repressed academics and mostly slime contractors, posting during duty
- >> hours paid for by your tax dollars, who attempt to dominate the
- >> government propaganda push in the news group.
- >
- > This sounds more like an ad hominem attack than a logical point.
- >
- >> The FAQ for comp.lang.ada has set a new, all time low standard for
- >> censorship where it suggests kill-filling the name of an outspoken Ada
- >> critic (the instant writer); hence the Ada community is so insecure,
- >> defensive, and intellectually dishonest that they promote cutting off
- >> the tongue of the critic -- now that's a laugh riot.
- >
- > You?
- >
- >> (But that is in keeping with the warring factions of DoD wasting your
- >> tax dollars by: getting the contractor TRW to fudge a report
- >> concluding Ada better than the rest; or setting up pork barrel reuse
- >> sites such as ASSET and AdaIC with the sole practical purpose of
- >> distributing totally useless "reusable" software and cross-posting
- >> short, wimpy, pathetic weekly reports to unrelated usenet groups.)
- >>
- >> Obvious to even the most casual of observers: Ada 83/95 loses big
- >> time, and C/C++ wins by default; it's as simple as that.
- >
- > Not obvious from your arguments.
- >
- > JAB
-