TY - BOOK ID - 1080993 TI - A review of Ada tasking AU - Burns, Alan AU - Lister, Andrew M. AU - Wellings, Andrew J. PY - 1987 VL - 262 SN - 3540180087 0387180087 354047241X PB - Berlin Springer DB - UniCat KW - Programming KW - Ada (Computer program language) KW - Ada (Langage de programmation) KW - 681.3*C24 KW - 681.3*D13 KW - 681.3*D32 KW - Distributed systems: distributed databases; distributed applications; networkoperating systems KW - Concurrent programming KW - language classifications: applicative languages; data-flow languages; design languages; extensible languages; macro and assembly languages; nonprocedural languages; specialized application and very high-level languages (Programminglanguages) KW - 681.3*D32 language classifications: applicative languages; data-flow languages; design languages; extensible languages; macro and assembly languages; nonprocedural languages; specialized application and very high-level languages (Programminglanguages) KW - 681.3*D13 Concurrent programming KW - 681.3*C24 Distributed systems: distributed databases; distributed applications; networkoperating systems KW - Computer science. KW - Programming Languages, Compilers, Interpreters. KW - Informatics KW - Science KW - Ada programming language UR - https://www.unicat.be/uniCat?func=search&query=sysid:1080993 AB - Ada* is unquestionably one of the most significant programming languages to emerge in the last decade. The manner of its inception and support by the US Department of Defense (DoD) ensures that it will be used extensively for the indefinite future in programming large and complex systems. The growing availability of compilers means that many organisations are already committed to using the language for sizable and significant applications. As a perhaps inevitable result of its design goals, Ada is a "large" language. It has Pascal-like control and type constructs; a mechanism for exception handling; a package structure for information hiding, decomposition and separate compilation; facilities for low-level programming; and a tasking model of concurrency. It is perhaps this last area that has generated most debate, criticism and disagreement. The purpose of this book is to review the tasking model in the light of the extensive analysis and comment which has appeared in the literature. The review is necessarily wide-ranging, including discussion of - Ada as a general purpose concurrent programming language, - Ada as a language for embedded and distributed systems, - implementation issues, with particular reference to distributed systems, - formal semantics, specification and verification, - proposed language modifications. By consolidating this discussion within the confines of a single review, potential users of the tasking facility are enabled to familiarise themselves with all the factors which may impinge upon the performance, reliability and correctness of their software. The book also provides a focus for any debate on modifications to the Ada language, or developments from it. ER -