stachour@sctc.com (Paul Stachour) (12/19/90)
bwb@sei.cmu.edu (Bruce Benson) writes: >When Borland creates TurboAda or Microsoft does QuickAda, then the language >is probably mature enough to hold its own. Until then, it remains an >interesting experimental language by the government. I have often asked myself the same question: Why is it that Borland or Microsoft or @@@ doesn't do a "Cheap" Ada compiler? ===> Climb on Soapbox This summer, I had an opportunity to answer that question, by being forced to use MicroSoft C (both versions 5.1 and 6.0). What I discovered (as far as the MicroSoft C is concerned) is that Microsoft doesn't have a C compiler. They have a compiler for some language, but it's not C. I've taken C programs that I've used on lots of compilers. These programs fit both the rules for (old-style, to me silly) K&R C, as well as the rules for new-style, ANSII (half-way reasonable) C. But they won't compile and run on Microsoft C. A variety of compiler bugs. Language features it wouldn't accept. Size restrictions on a 640K PC that means C-program to equivalent size to that of systems Implementation languages that compile on a 256K mainfrane won't compile on a PC using MSC. I know several people who have validated an Ada compiler. It's a hard job. It's easy to sell a C compiler; you just put something cheap enough out, and people will buy it; I know that I did. But it's not easy to sell an Ada compiler; first of all it has to compile Ada! That is, it has to pass some independent quality control step! What a strange idea for many software developers! Of course, I like compilers (like ones for Ada) that will accept and compile the langauge. I don't like compilers (like so many for C) that insist on rewriting the language in their own philosophy. Thus I never know what my programs "should do". Of course I don't mind compilers that have both "their extensions" for specialized needs as well as a "do it the standard way" option. But then, maybe I'm a strange consumer. On one multi-user system with over 3000 users, I filed 30% of all the bug-reports, finding things that didn't work right-and-left. Most users appear not to read the specifications, and think anything that the program gives or doesn't give them is right. <=== Descend from Soapbox ...Paul -- Paul Stachour Secure Computing Technology Corp stachour@sctc.com 1210 W. County Rd E, Suite 100 Arden Hills, MN 55112 [1]-(612) 482-7467