⇐ MY QUORA-INDEX QUORA - my answered Questions

QUORA - my answered Questions

Q006: Which language would you use to build a critical real-time system like an aircraft autopilot and why? C? I'm a Java developer. It is fast for most kind of applications but it sounds like this specific niche requires less overhead and more speed

If I have to decide in which language / system I would implement a life critical application and I should become the test person of this appliance, the only answer could be FORTH.

FORTH is super simple, easy to understand and extend, small and quite forward. So one can simply prove the correctness of such an application. FORTH is well known in the context of micro controllers, but not limited to.

Forth on the Space Shuttle

FORTH is its own interactive operating system and programming language. It doesn?t need much memory. Some k are enough for a full development system with interpreter, compiler debugger and storage system.

From: Forth Meta Compilation:

"Forth system differ greatly in their design and implementation. There is a wide range in both size and complexity. Some are very small. A native code port of one eForth for F21 fit the code dictionary into 1K word of memory. Chuck's latest Forth needs only 1K bytesThere are a number of factors that influence the complexity of a Forth system and the meta compiler that will be needed to compile it."