[Info-vax] Viable versus ideal programming languages

[Simon Clubley]

On 2022-03-21, Bill Gunshannon <bill.gunshannon at gmail.com> wrote:
> On 3/21/22 14:46, Simon Clubley wrote:
>> 
>> I would say that C is a _viable_ programming language in that case,
>> but I would not say that it is an _ideal_ programming language.
>> 
>> You may end up using something that is viable but is not your preferred
>> language. This could be due to language availability across multiple
>> environments, the ability of the language to be easily called from
>> other languages, etc.
>> 
>> This is especially important when you are writing library code for
>> example. Consider that I can write a portable library in C, and I can
>> then compile it unchanged on VMS, Linux/FreeBSD/Unix, Windows, embedded
>> operating systems, bare metal ARM/MIPS/etc, and even 8/16-bit MCUs if
>> the library is small enough.
>> 
>> I can then easily call that C library from a wide range of languages
>> running on those multiple operating systems and environments. The language
>> also allows me to create code that runs both in kernel mode and user mode.
>> 
>> Name one other programming language that allows me to do all that.
>
> What does any of that have to do with the language?  The specific
> compiler maybe, but not necessarily the language.  I could see
> not doing it in COBOL and probably LISP but otherwise, most languages
> can do what you want.
>

Fine. Where do I find the compilers in today's world that allow me
to do all of the above in a language other than C ? :-)

BTW, you are not going to be writing kernel mode device drivers or
kernel modules in Fortran (for example).

BTW #2, you can only easily call C++ code from a non-C++ program by
providing a C interface in the C++ library so you are back to using
C as an interface language even with C++...

Would be nice if that was not the only viable option, but the problem
is that C is a very viable language in all of these cases, even when
it is not an ideal language, so no-one has developed a viable alternative
over the decades.

Simon.

-- 
Simon Clubley, clubley at remove_me.eisner.decus.org-Earth.UFP
Walking destinations on a map are further away than they appear.