Ada Resource Association

Both C++ and Ada have been undergoing major revisions, resulting in the almost synchronized releases of C++ 11 and Ada 2012. This article describes the most notable additions to the two languages, and show how they relate one to the other.

This article describes some areas where Ada’s built-in language features are superior to what’s available in C and C++.

The ease with which code is analyzable depends of the language type you use. Static analysis is becoming mainstream, with mature bug-finding tools for C and Java, including products such as Coverity Prevent, Grammatech CodeSonar, and Fortify SCA. These products limit the level of “noise” (false warnings) inherent to such tools to a minimum. However, by carefully selecting those cases for which they report a problem, these bug-finders hide the fact that they are largely uncertain about the overall correctness of the program.

Static analysis tools are becoming more integrated into the software development process. Saving data from the compiler, change history, and error information during the process instead of as a post-code step can make static analysis more productive.

Jack Ganssle at Embedded.com discusses the Sofcheck and AdaCore CodePeer tool in Executing software contracts; in particular he examines the tool’s ability to create contracts for subprograms.

William Wong looks at the Dasher project being developed by Mälardalen University in Sweden.

Jack Ganssle at Embedded.com wonders Why aren’t developers more interested in Ada?

A follow-up piece by Jack Ganssle from his original article on the adoption of Ada which appears on Embedded.com.

Joab Jackson takes a look at the history of the Ada programming language, it’s traditional markets, and gives a real picture of Ada’s place in today’s software development world.

Naomi Hamilton at TechWorld chats with S. Tucker Taft, Chairman and CTO of SofCheck. Taft has been heavily involved in the Ada 1995 and 2005 revisions, and still works with the language today as both a designer and user.