Re: How come Ada isn't more popular?

Markus E Leypold wrote:
Charles D Hixson <charleshixsn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes:

goes on. I, personally, think that one factor IS the lack of a
standard garbage collector. Related to this is the awkwardness of
dealing with strings of varying lengths.

Actually that is rather good compared to C or C++. The different
string package s make it possible to often use stack allocated storage
only or get the comfort of unbounded strings. After a while I really
started to like this.

Note that "After a while"? The first hour, the first day, the first week, and the first month are the most important for forming lasting impressions. I still remember the extreme frustration I experienced the first time I tried to print a string...it was an unbounded string, and I hadn't used Ada.Text_IO.Unbounded...and I didn't have anyone I could ask "What does that silly error message MEAN!?!?"

It's easier to do simple things in Fortran, C, Pascal, Modula II, PL/I or even Snobol. Oh, yes, and BASIC, too. (The other current contenders weren't around then, I never learned Cobol, and it isn't easier in any assembler I ever learned.)
...
only Ada and Algol were frightening as well as lust provoking.

:-) Nice account.

Regards -- Markus

Thanks
.

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