is Ada Dead?

Allen M. · Post by **Allen M.** » Wed Jun 13, 2001 6:24 am

For the techies around, it looks like Ada is dying dead.

For the non-techies, Ada was supposed to be a do-it-all computer language that just got so big it exploded at the seams. KABOOM!!!
http://www.seas.gwu.edu/~mfeldman/ada-project-summary.html

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Allen Moulton from Uechi-ryu Etcetera

Valkenar · Post by **Valkenar** » Thu Jun 14, 2001 6:14 pm

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Allen M.:
For the techies around, it looks like Ada is dying dead.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I would say that Ada certainly is dead. It's slower than C/C++, and less development process oriented than Java. What advantages does it have?

Allen M. · Post by **Allen M.** » Fri Jun 15, 2001 12:30 am

I didn't realize you are into software engineering?

Of course, every other HLL is slower than c. One of Ada's claim's to fame is that it is the strongest typed language.

Without Ada there'd be no C++ and no Java.

Ada was mutch better before it was fully developed and was embraced heavily by the European community who ported zillions of
COBOL lines into it and considered because it had the stamp of approval of DOD it was going to survive the test of time.

BTW, that PS is still in the back of my truck if you're still interested.

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Allen Moulton from Uechi-ryu Etcetera

Valkenar · Post by **Valkenar** » Mon Jun 18, 2001 4:54 pm

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Allen M.:
I didn't realize you are into software engineering?
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Yeah, I work for an on-line training company (www.sybernet.com) I mostly do stuff with the tools that get information online with our system.
<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>
Without Ada there'd be no C++ and no Java.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

True, but without BASIC there wouldn't be ADA either. How far back do we want to go?

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>
BTW, that PS is still in the back of my truck if you're still interested.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Yeah, I'm still interested. Can you tell me about it again? I would certainly be willing to take it at camp, but if you want it gone before that, maybe we can work sometihng out.

[/B][/QUOTE]

Allen M. · Post by **Allen M.** » Mon Jun 18, 2001 10:58 pm

Shall I bring the PS to Wednesday night's TC?

<hr>

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote

True, but without BASIC there wouldn't be ADA either. How far back do we want to go?

This is where I draw the line.

BASIC and I go back to 1971/2 when I designed software that connected two satellites [LES-8,-9] in the HP-IB bus to do mission simulations, and it wasn't a program language then but it was the only thing around that we didn't have to fill in forms to submit to have punched cards made...

BASIC is still not a real computer language. BASIC is a plaything and a tool in which through the years people like Microsoft have added a lot of stuff around it to make it look and feel more languagistic. It has a great GUI -- really RAD, which is not BASIC rather a shell around it, and I've built some spiffy Active-X controls with it,I like the way you just drop a phone icon into a form and Voila! Instant RS-232 communications, but those things just make it a better toy.

Don't get me wrong, VB5/6 got me a few contracts, so I love it.

I was trying to draw the line at Ada in terms of truly modern computer languages, but not as far back as when it was only FORTRAN and APL, but neither of those are modern. Certainly not APL.

BTW, Ada would have made it fine without BASIC. Ada is based on Pascal [and Modula-2 (also based on Pascal)] -- for what it's Wirth -- not BASIC.

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Allen Moulton from Uechi-ryu Etcetera

Valkenar · Post by **Valkenar** » Thu Jun 21, 2001 8:17 pm

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Allen M.:

Shall I bring the PS to Wednesday night's TC?

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
I have class on wednesday nights at 6:30, until june 15th. That's why I haven't been showing up.
<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> wasn't a program language then but it was the only thing around that we didn't have to fill in forms to submit to have punched cards made...

BASIC is still not a real computer language.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I don't like BASIC either, but that doesn't mean it isn't a computer language. It's a bad computer language, but it does fit all of the basic definitions of a language.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>
I was trying to draw the line at Ada in terms of truly modern computer languages[.]

... BTW, Ada would have made it fine without BASIC. Ada is based on Pascal [and Modula-2 (also based on Pascal)]
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

True, it's not directly based on Basic. But as you pointed out yourself, Basic was the first high-level language. Would you try to argue that whether or not Basic had been invented, the programming languages of today would be the same? Languages created later might not be directly derivative of Basic, but they're influenced by it (or at least the were, so the lasting trace is left).

For that matter, the layout of the punchcards probably had some subtle effect on how Basic was constructed.
[/B][/QUOTE]

Allen M. · Post by **Allen M.** » Thu Jun 21, 2001 11:00 pm

Did I say BASIC was the FIRST high-level language? If I did, I must have been writing too many lines of code when I said that.

We can argue about what BASIC is and isn't if you will. However, it was "kinda" formed around FORTRAN which STILL beats even "C" hands down when it comes tome to number crunching. I'm doing a little radar work right now, and may have to roll my shirtsleves up and do some array processing in FORTRAN, the only course I aced in college.

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Allen Moulton from Uechi-ryu Etcetera