Anyone looked at security features of D programming language compared to Spark?

[Jim & Mary Ronback <Jim_Ronback () dccnet com>]

Has anyone compared D with Spark. Spark is the high-integrity Ada subset 
which allows a very powerful static analysis, using a tool called the 
Spark Examiner.


Safety critical sofware has a lot of overlap with the requirements for 
high security software. One of the criteria is to use a language which 
has its syntax and sematics rigorously defined. Thus one would use a 
language like Spark to implement security related modules which can more 
readily be proven correct.


If the syntax and semantics of D are not rigorously defined then it 
should not be used for secure applications.


For Spark see http://www.praxis-cs.co.uk/sparkada/

They also have an interesting list of security/ integrity related cases 
where Spark has been used, e.g., the security modules for the SmartCard 
(system using a credit card with an embedded chip)


http://www.praxis-cs.co.uk/sparkada/publications.asp

Jim Ronback
System Safety Engineer

Greenarrow 1 wrote:

There is a comparison chart of different functions of D vs other languages 
at this site:


http://www.digitalmars.com/d/comparison.html

Regards,
George
Greenarrow1
InNetInvestigations-Forensics


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "James Walden" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>

To: "Kenneth R. van Wyk" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Wednesday, April 21, 2004 10:05 AM
Subject: Re: [SC-L] Anyone looked at security features of D programming 
language?



 


Kenneth R. van Wyk wrote:
   

Has anyone here looked into the security strengths/weaknesses of D? 
Care to
discuss or summarize for the rest of us?  Does it inherit the problems 
of C

while trying to improve on C++ et al?
     


I haven't examined D myself, but I would also be interested if anyone
could recommend a good paper or site comparing programming language
security features, either for just C-family languages like C/C++, C#,
Cyclone, and D, or for a broader spectrum of language types.  The
closest document to this type of comparison that I've read is section 10
of David Wheeler's excellent Secure Programming for Linux and Unix
HOWTO, but newer languages like Cyclone and D aren't represented in that
section.

--
James Walden, Ph.D.
Visiting Assistant Professor of EECS
The University of Toledo @ LCCC
http://www.eecs.utoledo.edu/~jwalden/