Re: AIA Position on Ada

[Simon Johnston <skj@ACM.ORG>]

Ordnance survey maps are about the only ones available apart from some =
tourist maps. The quality of the maps and the availability of different =
scales (I have a large scale driving map of the UK, a selection of =
medium scale maps of areas I visit frequently and a couple of finer maps =
of places I like to go walking) has meant that rivals have not got a =
foothold in the market place.



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--|Simon K. Johnston - Development Engineer (C++/Ada95) |ICL Retail =
Systems |
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--|Unix Mail: skj@acm.org                               |Bracknell       =
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--|WWW URL  : http://www.acm.org/~skj/                  |United Kingdom  =
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----------
From:   Larry J. Elmore[SMTP:ljelmore@MONTANA.CAMPUS.MCI.NET]
Sent:   Monday, August 26, 1996 3:35 AM
To:     INFO-ADA@LISTSERV.NODAK.EDU
Subject:        Re: AIA Position on Ada

Bob Kitzberger <rlk@rational.com> wrote in article
<4vq1n2$9o1@rational.rational.com>...

> I suspect there may be a bit too much faith in the free market's
> ability to choose the best technologies.  Has anyone seen the
> incredible Ordnance Survey maps in the UK?  Care to compare those
> to the commercial variety in the US?  Would the US DoD prefer
> Ordnance Survey-quality maps or commercial US maps?

I don't know the background of the British Ordnance Survey maps, but it
sounds as though they are made for (and possibly by) the British =
military.
I take it these maps are easily available to the general public? Are =
other
commercial maps (of presumably lower detail and quality) available to =
the
British public, and if so, how many more are sold than Ordnance Survey
maps?

Commercial maps are made for commercial purposes, and no extra expense =
is
going to be made providing higher levels of detail and quality than is
necessary to satisfy the majority of customers. Those that need better =
must
pay for it. The military has great need of the best maps possible. =
Whether
they get them through their own mapping service, or another government
agency dedicated to that task, or contract with a private company, they
will end up paying whatever price is necessary.

For the vast majority of us, that kind of detail and accuracy are just
plain unnecessary, so we're not about to pay for it. Why should we? So
mass-market commercial mapmakers provide us with  maps that are 'good
enough' and no more expensive than necessary.

Mapmaking is a proper domain of government, though, because it is
intimately related to national defense. Unless I'm mistaken, commercial
mapmakers depend upon government source maps, anyway, don't they?

Larry J. Elmore
ljelmore@montana.campus.mci.net
"Anyone who isn't a socialist by the age of twenty doesn't have a heart.
 Anyone who isn't a conservative by the age of forty doesn't have a =
brain."
-- Winston Churchill