Re: Ada design

salomon@silver.cs.umanitoba.ca (Daniel J. Salomon) writes:


>Ada is really the language of the nineties: forbid
>smoking, forbid cholesterol, forbid sex. Maybe its better for me, but
>it sure takes the fun out of life.


I have always found this idea a little strange. There seems to be a
political image associated with one's choice of language: Ada is for
conservative types who like state control; C is for liberated free
thinkers with cool clothes who can dance at the edge of anarchy.


(Un)fortunately, digital computers don't give a damn about politics. A
single bit error can bring a whole system crashing down. For safe
systems, adherence to interfaces is crucial for reliable
behaviour. Using a strongly typed language enforces the *programmer's*
abstractions, independent of their political bent. At any rate, one is
free to use dangerous programming practices in Ada; it is simply more
more obvious that they are occurring.


Cheers,
Ray Blaak
blaak@mda.ca
--

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