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From: usenet on 8 Jul 2010 20:52
Serious question: What do you consider the N best things / strong
points / biggest benefits of using Ada? I'm asking as part of my case-
building for using Ada at work. Of course I have my own list, but I
don't have anywhere near the Ada experience of most of you folks.

Thanks.


From: Britt Snodgrass on 8 Jul 2010 21:23
On Jul 8, 7:52 pm, use...(a)scriptoriumdesigns.com wrote:
> Serious question:  What do you consider the N best things / strong
> points / biggest benefits of using Ada?  I'm asking as part of my case-
> building for using Ada at work.  Of course I have my own list, but I
> don't have anywhere near the Ada experience of most of you folks.
>
> Thanks.

My short list:

1. Packages as organizational units
2. Separation of specification from implementation (body)
3. Subtype ranges
4. Representation clauses for precise data representation (e.g., for
hardware interfacing)
5. Case insensitivity (i.e., "case sensitivity considered harmful")
6. Great readability (e.g., begin/end instead of curly braces)
7. Underscores allowed in numeric literals (e.g.,
24_3345.7689_3345_8807)
8. A good (well thought out and reviewed) language standard
9. The GNAT compiler's great error and warning messages.
10. The availability of SPARK when very high (safe & secure) assurance
is needed.

- Britt
From: Jeffrey R. Carter on 8 Jul 2010 22:19
On 07/08/2010 05:52 PM, usenet(a)scriptoriumdesigns.com wrote:
> Serious question: What do you consider the N best things / strong
> points / biggest benefits of using Ada? I'm asking as part of my case-
> building for using Ada at work. Of course I have my own list, but I
> don't have anywhere near the Ada experience of most of you folks.

Off the top of my head:

Separation of spec and body
Application-defined numeric types
High-level, safe concurrency
Early detection of common errors
Great expressiveness

--
Jeff Carter
"When danger reared its ugly head, he bravely
turned his tail and fled."
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
60
From: anon on 8 Jul 2010 23:08
In <97691fd2-7411-4ccc-bc7b-290aca633cd5(a)z30g2000prg.googlegroups.com>, usenet(a)scriptoriumdesigns.com writes:
>Serious question: What do you consider the N best things / strong
>points / biggest benefits of using Ada? I'm asking as part of my case-
>building for using Ada at work. Of course I have my own list, but I
>don't have anywhere near the Ada experience of most of you folks.
>
>Thanks.
>
>

1. RM defines the language.

2. Muti-Core programs are easy. Just modify/create few run-time packages to
switch the real-time concurrent system to a real-time mutiple-core system.

3. Readablity, Reliability, Maintainability, and Efficiency.

4. Portable without conditionals statement. Update the OS or change
processor only requires a simple recomping of the source code without
changes.

5. from Section 1 of the RM 95:

Section 1: General


1 Ada is a programming language designed to support the construction of
long-lived, highly reliable software systems. The language includes
facilities to define packages of related types, objects, and operations. The
packages may be parameterized and the types may be extended to support the
construction of libraries of reusable, adaptable software components. The
operations may be implemented as subprograms using conventional sequential
control structures, or as entries that include synchronization of concurrent
threads of control as part of their invocation. The language treats
modularity in the physical sense as well, with a facility to support separate
compilation.

2 The language includes a complete facility for the support of real-time,
concurrent programming. Errors can be signaled as exceptions and handled
explicitly. The language also covers systems programming; this requires
precise control over the representation of data and access to
system-dependent properties. Finally, a predefined environment of standard
packages is provided, including facilities for, among others, input-output,
string manipulation, numeric elementary functions, and random number
generation.

From: tonyg on 9 Jul 2010 04:29
On Jul 9, 4:08 am, a...(a)att.net wrote:
> In <97691fd2-7411-4ccc-bc7b-290aca633...(a)z30g2000prg.googlegroups.com>, use...(a)scriptoriumdesigns.com writes:
>
> >Serious question:  What do you consider the N best things / strong
> >points / biggest benefits of using Ada?  I'm asking as part of my case-
> >building for using Ada at work.  Of course I have my own list, but I
> >don't have anywhere near the Ada experience of most of you folks.
>
> >Thanks.
>
> 1. RM defines the language.
>
> 2. Muti-Core programs are easy. Just modify/create few run-time packages to
> switch the real-time concurrent system to a real-time mutiple-core system..
>
> 3. Readablity, Reliability, Maintainability, and Efficiency.
>
> 4. Portable without conditionals statement. Update the OS or change
> processor only requires a simple recomping of the source code without
> changes.
>
> 5. from Section 1 of the RM 95:
>
>                              Section 1: General
>
> 1   Ada is a programming language designed to support the construction of
> long-lived, highly reliable software systems.  The language includes
> facilities to define packages of related types, objects, and operations.  The
> packages may be parameterized and the types may be extended to support the
> construction of libraries of reusable, adaptable software components.  The
> operations may be implemented as subprograms using conventional sequential
> control structures, or as entries that include synchronization of concurrent
> threads of control as part of their invocation.  The language treats
> modularity in the physical sense as well, with a facility to support separate
> compilation.
>
> 2   The language includes a complete facility for the support of real-time,
> concurrent programming.  Errors can be signaled as exceptions and handled
> explicitly.  The language also covers systems programming; this requires
> precise control over the representation of data and access to
> system-dependent properties.  Finally, a predefined environment of standard
> packages is provided, including facilities for, among others, input-output,
> string manipulation, numeric elementary functions, and random number
> generation.

A few years at a eminent european institution which uses Ada, C++ and
linux I was hired as part of a 5 man team to conduct a migration of a
monumental system from a 32 bit environment to a 64 bit environment.
There were two C++ guys, one hardware guy and I was the ada guy, and
the boss flew in, / worked remtoely a lot. Two days after the start
the Boss Guy took me aside to tell me that there appeared to be no
work for me because the Ada was all going to work. The rest required
all sorts of changes. (Luckily I was useful elsewhere).

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