[Info-vax] Ada, was: Re: Some questions on software for VMS 7.3 VAX

[Simon Clubley]

On 2016-01-01, lists at openmailbox.org <lists at openmailbox.org> wrote:
> On 31 Dec 2015 15:22:33 -0500
> Bob Koehler via Info-vax <info-vax at rbnsn.com> wrote:
>
>> In article <n63sc5$poj$1 at panix2.panix.com>, kludge at panix.com (Scott
>> Dorsey) writes:
>> >  <lists at openmailbox.org> wrote:
>> >>
>> >>It is. As I said it's 83, and quite a good one, but I'm looking for Ada
>> >>95.
>> > 
>> > Doesn't Ada 83 already have every language feature that it's possible to
>> > add?  What more can they put on?
>> 
>>    All the mistakes in C++?
>
> I haven't looked at 2005 and later but the early versions were very
> careful not to do that. I think Simon could speak more to that issue from
> what I've seen of his posts. There's a lot of discussion on C/C++ problems
> in comp.lang.ada and how they are non starters in Ada.
>

$ set response/mode=good_natured

Simon learned a long time ago not to get involved in language debates
unless he has some very specific criticisms which impact his work. :-)

My knowledge of Ada is also mainly at the Ada 95 level. I'm familiar
with some of the things in later versions but have not really used them.

One thing I will say is that while the online Ada community can be
standoff-ish and can have a bit of a superior/lecturing attitude they
are generally friendly to newcomers.

However, the Ada language maintainers do listen to well formed ideas from
people not at the core of the community and consider them on their merits;
I know because I currently have a proposal being considered by the Ada
standards committee (to do with partial aggregates) for the next version
of Ada.

I have absolutely no idea if the proposal will eventually be accepted in
some form, but in quite a few communities any such proposal would probably
not even have got as far as it has unless you were part of the inner
circle. At the same time, you do have to hope however that a language
standards committee isn't going to pass something which turns the language
into something it isn't and actually damages the core of the language.

So yes, while I am not going to get into a C++ versus Ada debate, I do
want to say that the online Ada community comes across as generally
friendly. To anyone interested in Ada, you can also write code using a
small core subset of the Ada language without having to learn the whole
thing in case the size of the Ada LRM comes across as daunting. :-)

Simon.

-- 
Simon Clubley, clubley at remove_me.eisner.decus.org-Earth.UFP
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