Re: Java as an API (Re: Article on state of graphics drivers on BSDs)

[Martin <martin.kelly4000%gmail.com@localhost>]

lol, i probably have just don't recognize it. Gnat sounds more familiar than ada.

On Fri, Feb 15, 2013 at 6:43 PM, John Marino <netbsd%marino.st@localhost> wrote:

On 2/15/2013 03:47, Martin wrote:

Never heard of Ada (gnat) but will look into it. :)

It's pretty remarkable that you haven't heard of it.  It's been standardized for 3 decades:

1983 ANSI/MIL-STD 1815A (Ada 83)
1987 ISO-8652:1987 (Ada 83)
1995 ANSI/ISO-8652:1995  (Ada 95, first ISO object-oriented language)
2007 ISO/IEC 8652:1995/Amd 1:2007 (Ada 2005)
2012 ISO/IEC 8652:2012 (Ada 2012)

Even the method to verify the integrity of the compiler is a standard:
1999 ISO/IEC-18009;1999 (Ada: Conformity assessment of a language processor)

That's why Ada really is the most portable -- The conformity is the compiler is heavily tested on every platform its ported to.  If it passes those tests, the program in question will run on that platform.

This is not a toy language.
John