The Shape of Code

Programming languages are sometimes categorized as being either weakly or strongly typed. I’m not going to join the often rabid debates over which category a particular language belongs to, but rather discuss the relative type strengths of two languages, C++ and Ada, to see if it is possible to claim that one of them is more strongly typed than the other.

Most programming languages support variables having more than one type (e.g., integer and float are two very common types) and have rules specifying which combinations of differently typed values/variables are permitted to occur in a given context, e.g., C++ allows a value of type int to be assigned to a variable of type float (an implicit conversion is performed), but Ada not perform this implicit conversion and the integer value has to be explicit converted to float before it can be assigned (otherwise a compile time error will be generated).

The more implicit type conversions a language supports the weaker its type system is said to be.

C++ supports more implicit conversions than Ada (others include boolean/int and char/int) and loose type strength points because of this (there is plenty of scope for debate about whether some implicit conversions are more evil than others, but cost/benefit debates are harder to come by).

While C++/Ada differ in their support for implicit conversions they are pretty equal in their support for explicit conversions (e.g., in Ada the code float(23) would convert the integer 23 to a float type). In some cases Ada requires that various hoops be jumped through to make the conversion happen (representation clauses are a great topic to bring up when being lectured about how type safe Ada is, a bit like telling somebody being snobbish that they go to the bathroom like everybody else).

The underlying idea is that the compilation errors generated by these ‘undesirable’ attempted implicit conversions alert the developer to a possible mistake in what they have written. These kinds of messages from the compiler have certainly caught errors in my code, but often the error has been a failure to write the required explicit conversion; every now and again a ‘real’ error is flagged. But I digress, this discussion is about what weak/strong typing is, not about what its costs and benefits might be.

Does Ada have any other feature that increases its type strength with respect to C++?

Both languages allow names to be given to existing types: typedef length_t int; in C++ and subtype length_t is integer; in Ada both define length_t to be a synonym for the integer type, but without resulting in any extra type checks occurring. However, Ada supports a kind of type definition mechanism that does result in extra checks being made by the compiler. In the following code:

subtype length_t is integer;
type time_t is integer;
 
a : integer;
b : length_t;
c : time_t;
 
begin
a := b;          -- OK
a := c;          -- Error, type mismatch
a := integer(c); -- OK, explicit conversion

time_t is defined to have a type that is not compatible with integer, even although its underlying representation is the same as the integer type. Mixing variables having types integer and time_t results in a compile time error.

The intended purpose for defining a ‘new’ type and creating variables having that type is to restrict operations on those variables to being with other variables having the same type, e.g., assignment and addition between any variables having type time_t is fine but involving other types results in a compile time error (there are special rules that allow integer literals to general get mixed in). I find that the errors flagged by this kind of checking are mostly very useful.

It is also possible to achieve the same kind of type checking in C++ using template metaprogramming, e.g., the SIunits library. In fact using this technique enables C++ to support a much more general and user friendly range of of ‘strong type’ functionality than is supported by the built-in Ada functionality (it is also possible to use general language functionality in Ada to implement the kind of checking possible in C++, however prior to the 2012 Ada standard the checks occurred at runtime but it now looks like there is a mechanism for doing them at compile time {because it is often possible to switch off runtime checks some people consider them to be weaker than compile time checks})

Fans of subranges (I dearly miss this feature when using C-like languages) can get their fix here.

Is there a rule that extra type strength points are given if a language contains explicit type creation syntax (Ada contains a menagerie of syntax and semantics for doing this kind of stuff), compared to languages that require the use of constructs having many other uses? I don’t see why there should be. The fact that template metaprogramming makes a lot of C++ developers’ head’s hurt means that many will limit themselves to using what others have created, rather than growing project specific libraries; but since when have usability and frequency of use been a major issue in the weak/string type debate?

The score so far is that C++ has lots points to Ada because of its greater support for implicit type conversions, but has held its ground everywhere else.

Can either language pick up any more points?

There is the culture angle. Ada developers have a culture of making use of the type checking functionality provided by the language; this is a skill that has to be learned, you get some type checking for free but the rest has to be designed into the code. C++ developers also have a culture of making use of the type checking functionality provided by the language, i.e., most do not use add-on packages like SIunits.

I am not aware of any studies that have investigated the extent to which developers make use of type checking functionality; pointers to such studies welcome. If there is more ‘strongly typed’ C++ than Ada code out there it is only because there is a lot more C++ code out there.

It is my experience that culture and existing code do color developers’ position on where to draw the line in the weak/strong debate, but don’t effect relative language orderings.

The conclusion is that Ada is more strongly typed than C++, but how much more strongly typed remaines an open question. Both languages require effort from the developer to make full use of the typing functionality that is available.