Using 'C' for Safety-Critical Applications
Quote:
> I like ADA but, we have a project (safety-critical real-time system for braking)
> where a small subset of C has been selected as development language just
> because of commercial issues - the one and only reasons that really counts in
> an industrial context!.
Since Ada has been used successfully for commercial hard real-time
safety-critical systems, this seems to be a silly reason.
You might want to check out what your competitors are finding out. See:
http://www.*-*-*.com/ #successes
Quote:
> Those are :
> o expensive runtime license of ADA compilers is an important cost constraint
> for embedded application. Our application work in a very lean environment.
> Most parts of the ADA runtime has been thrown away but not all. The license
> has to be paid per running piece. Therefore the price per piece has been
> enormously increased using ADA.
Not all Ada compilers have such a pricing structure. We don't pay a
per-use price for
ours. Do a little comparison shopping and see if you can't get a better
deal!
Quote:
> o runtime efficiency in size (must find place in eeproms), performance
> (hard real-time application)
I have a hard real-time safety-critical application running in a small
EEPROM space,
so this is also easily disproven. See also the Tartan comparison of Ada
and C
performance for TI DSPs.
Quote:
> o more or less the C subset left over is a replacement of Assembler, but is
> sufficient to meet portability, structure, testing and certification goals
Why is this an argument against using Ada? Certainly, you can create the
a reasonable
Ada subsset as well.
If you already have working "C" code, and you're happy with it, then use
it. If
you're starting a new project, sounds like an excellent place to use
Ada.
Quote:
> Remark:
> Complexity of the sources, application running certain microcontrollers:
> ~4800 lines of C code
> ~2500 lines of assembler
> No external libraries are allowed.
> The type and the complexity of the safety critical application is probably
> decisive for the selection of the programming language. Maybe C
> development costs might be higher (probably during certification). But the
> question is : are you cheaper than your competitor?
You might also be interested in:
http://www.*-*-*.com/
Quote:
> In our case, the first implementation of the system has been done in ADA -
> THEN in C.
Seems strange to me.
If you've already made up your mind to use "C", are you just looking for
someone
to confirm what you've already decided?
Quote:
> Kind regards
> Heiner
> ------------- URL http://www.*-*-*.com/ ~ae59 ---------------------
> Heinrich Berlejung |Institut f. Angewandte Mathematik
> Tel.:+49 721 377936 / Fax:+49 721 385979 |P.O. Box 6980,D-76128 Karlsruhe
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