Article View: comp.specification
Article #213Difference between Spec and Code? Who cares?
From: Brian L. Kahn
Date: Thu, 25 Oct 1990 18:22
Date: Thu, 25 Oct 1990 18:22
19 lines
1527 bytes
1527 bytes
For some time, I've puzzled over the difference (if any) between a specification language and a programming language. The best I can come up with is that a spec has less information about data structures and/or algorithms than is usually found in code. Higher order programming languages and executable specification languages blur this already shaky description. Anyone feel strongly about this issue? Scratch that, I've read this newgroup awhile and I know that strong feelings abound. ( ;-) Anyone have a cleaner definition than this? If someone writes a compiler for an existing specification language, shall that language lose it's license and be barred from practicing specification in the future? If a compiler writer must make decisions that have a major affect on the algorithm expressed in the object code, is this a specification rather than a program? Which is ADA? -- B< Brian Kahn blk@security.mitre.org "may the farce be with you"
Technical Details
Message-ID:
<BLK.90Oct25142230@vanity.mitre.org>Path:
arc1-ca.pugleaf.net!utzoo!attcan!uunet!decwrl!ucbvax!agate!linus!linus!mbunix!blkReferences:
<21500@dime.cs.umass.edu> <5321@uqcspe.cs.uq.oz.au> <40496@shemp.CS.UCLA.EDU> <13850@cs.utexas.edu>Show Full Headers
Complete Article Headers
Path: arc1-ca.pugleaf.net!utzoo!attcan!uunet!decwrl!ucbvax!agate!linus!linus!mbunix!blk From: blk@mitre.org (Brian L. Kahn) Newsgroups: comp.specification Subject: Difference between Spec and Code? Who cares? Message-ID: <BLK.90Oct25142230@vanity.mitre.org> Date: 25 Oct 90 18:22:30 GMT References: <21500@dime.cs.umass.edu> <5321@uqcspe.cs.uq.oz.au> <40496@shemp.CS.UCLA.EDU> <13850@cs.utexas.edu> Sender: usenet@linus.mitre.org Organization: The MITRE Corp. Bedford, MA Lines: 19 In-reply-to: turpin@cs.utexas.edu's message of 22 Oct 90 22:55:50 GMT