Re: What is faster Ada or C?

[pontius@btv.MBI.com.invalid (Dale Pontius)]

In article <pdxu1vb67fq.fsf@sirppi.helsinki.fi>,
        aaro@iki.fi (Aaro Koskinen) writes:
...
> (Also, I would imagine that with Ada's strong typing, the compiler can
> do better optimizations than an average C compiler. However, I don't
> have any evidence for this...)

I've always heard and felt this, too. However I wonder if theory and
practice unfortunately differ here, due to the overwhelming popularity
of C and its ilk.

Take gnat as an example. It's a front-end for gcc, which is itself
developed primarily in C. So granting that strong typing allows better
optimization, is the back-end smart enough to use the extra information?
The primary role for the gcc back-end is for C and C++ front-ends, and
most likely C doesn't give extra type-enabled optimization information.
Does C++ send such information to the back-end?

In other words, I suspect only a custom/dedicated/tuned Ada compiler
will (not can, but will) optimize better than a C compiler, simply due
to marketplace forces.

Dale Pontius
NOT speaking for IBM