Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!m.cs.uiuc.edu!marick
From: marick@m.cs.uiuc.edu (Brian Marick)
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Subject: Re: Source File Organization
Message-ID: <1991Mar1.143534.50@m.cs.uiuc.edu>
Date: 1 Mar 91 14:35:34 GMT
References: <1991Feb26.045242.23453@rfengr.com> <4836@goanna.cs.rmit.oz.au> <4070@bnr-rsc.UUCP> <jls.667786271@rutabaga>
Organization: University of Illinois, Dept. of Comp. Sci., Urbana, IL
Lines: 29

jls@rutabaga.Rational.COM (Jim Showalter) writes:

>Again, in Ada this is handled by the predefined attribute 'IMAGE. Considering
>the range of kludgy/complex "solutions" posted here to what is a non-issue
>in Ada, it never ceases to amaze me how violently C hackers cling to that
>damned language.

Let's not get bogged down in this month's C vs. Ada flame war.  

1.  The C style of solving the problem does cost more than the Ada
style: it is more difficult to learn, and the reliability is certainly
no higher (probably lower).

2.  However, both the cost and reliability delta are probably
insignificant in relation to total development costs.

3.  The various C (really C/UNIX) techniques are applicable to other
tasks, including various styles of table-driven programming.

(Me, I use the "include the same definitions file several times,
changing the applicable #defines each time" trick -- without either
being pleased by a clever hack or being dismayed about its kludginess.
I wish I had such sure answers to the important problems that such a
small matter really mattered.)


Brian Marick
Motorola @ University of Illinois
marick@cs.uiuc.edu, uiucdcs!marick