Ada is not just another programming language (1986)

#1

Post by kickitover » Thu, Oct 28, 2021, 7:57 AM UTC

Ada is not just another programming language (1986)
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Re: Ada is not just another programming language (1986)

#2

Post by kickitover » Thu, Oct 28, 2021, 7:57 AM UTC

A technical and non-technical article on the development of the Ada programming language.

Re: Ada is not just another programming language (1986)

#3

Post by tombert » Sat, Oct 30, 2021, 4:29 AM UTC

Ada is a language that has been on my "todo list" of languages for awhile (just after FORTH). I generally hate this term, but Ada does kind of look like a language that was "ahead of its time", specifically in regards to concurrency.

Re: Ada is not just another programming language (1986)

#4

Post by Cloudef » Sat, Oct 30, 2021, 4:46 AM UTC

I like how in ada you can specify custom range integers

Re: Ada is not just another programming language (1986)

#5

Post by Taniwha » Sat, Oct 30, 2021, 4:47 AM UTC

kickitover wrote: post #2

A technical and non-technical article on the development of the Ada programming language.

Well it's essentially a PR piece, says lots of reasons why Ada is better than everything without actually showing any concrete examples

Re: Ada is not just another programming language (1986)

#6

Post by wk_end » Sat, Oct 30, 2021, 4:53 AM UTC

Cloudef wrote: post #4

I like how in ada you can specify custom range integers

I've always wondered - does Ada track or enforce these ranges?

Like, if I have a variable `i` in range 0...10 and write the Ada equivalent of `i++`, does Ada know that from there on out `i` is in range 1...11? Something like TypeScript's type narrowing?

Re: Ada is not just another programming language (1986)

#7

Post by Cloudef » Sat, Oct 30, 2021, 4:59 AM UTC

wk_end wrote: post #6

Cloudef wrote: post #4

I like how in ada you can specify custom range integers

I've always wondered - does Ada track or enforce these ranges? Like, if I have a variable `i` in range 0...10 and write the Ada equivalent of `i++`, does Ada know that from there on out `i` is in range 1...11? Something like TypeScript's type narrowing?

Yes, it's enforced by any _runtime_ operation. See: https://www.adaic.org/resources/add_content/standards/05rm/h...

Re: Ada is not just another programming language (1986)

#8

Post by Jtsummers » Sat, Oct 30, 2021, 5:01 AM UTC

wk_end wrote: post #6

Cloudef wrote: post #4

I like how in ada you can specify custom range integers

I've always wondered - does Ada track or enforce these ranges? Like, if I have a variable `i` in range 0...10 and write the Ada equivalent of `i++`, does Ada know that from there on out `i` is in range 1...11? Something like TypeScript's type narrowing?

The range wouldn’t change in Ada. The type for a variable is fixed at compile time. It will ensure (at runtime and partially at compile time) that the value doesn’t go outside the range, though.

Re: Ada is not just another programming language (1986)

#9

Post by throwaway81523 » Sat, Oct 30, 2021, 5:14 AM UTC

wk_end wrote: post #6

Cloudef wrote: post #4

I like how in ada you can specify custom range integers

I've always wondered - does Ada track or enforce these ranges? Like, if I have a variable `i` in range 0...10 and write the Ada equivalent of `i++`, does Ada know that from there on out `i` is in range 1...11? Something like TypeScript's type narrowing?

Usually with runtime checks, but it can also in some situations be done statically, such as with SPARK.

Re: Ada is not just another programming language (1986)

#10

Post by tasty_freeze » Sat, Oct 30, 2021, 5:27 AM UTC

Cloudef wrote: post #4

I like how in ada you can specify custom range integers

Pascal had subrange types before Ada, not only for integers but characters too.

    var day : 1 .. 31;
        letter : 'A' .. 'Z';

And you could specify ranges on array subscripts as well:

    var weight : array[-5 .. 5] of integer;