Re: Do we need "Mission-Critical" software? Was: What to Do?

[David Kristola <David95037@See-My.Sig>]

On Fri, 26 Jan 2001 12:43:20 -0800, Lao Xiao Hai (Richard Riehle) wrote
(in message <3A71E168.FC629B19@ix.netcom.com>):

> Robert Dewar wrote:
>> In article <3A6CEA26.90EACF3D@ix.netcom.com>,
>> Lao Xiao Hai <laoxhai@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
>>> Tucker Taft wrote:
>>>> I believe THAAD has settled on C++.
>>> 
>>> Clearly an irresponsible decision on the part of somebody.
>> 
>> That may be a little unfair. Most choices of programming
>> languages are made not on the basis of technical excellence
>> of the language, but rather on the basis of familiarity with
>> a particular language. That's not necessarily irresponsible,
>> since familiarity is an important factor.
> 
> Perhaps I am being unfair.   However, the current THAAD software
> is programmed in Ada 83.  I am not sure that slouching toward C++
> is as easy as transitioning existing software to a new version of the
> same language.   Am I wrong?  Is it easier to convert Ada 83 code
> to C++ or to Ada 95?
> 
> Then again, is it unreasonable to expect the decision for a major Dod
> weapon system to be made on the basis of technical excellence rather
> than on the basis of someone's personal preference for a language that
> does more to enhance their resume than to do the job right?
> 
> If I am being unfair, so be it.   This is warfighting software.   When
> it comes
> to war, there is no such thing as fair.

I worked on THAAD, and know some of the players in this.  A number of 
them are very good engineers who simply don't like Ada as much as the 
rest of us.  Why?  I'm not sure.  I would also guess that these 
particular people are Lockheed Martin lifers, so i doubt they are 
looking to add C++ to their resumes so they can move on.

As for conversion, i too would think it easier to go to Ada95 from what 
they had previously.  I'm not sure how much the computing hardware has 
changed from Dem/Val to EMD.  If the hardware is very different (and 
several years have gone by since Dem/Val started), the software could 
be in for a major overhaul anyway.

Don't get me wrong.  I think they made a mistake going to C++.  Still, 
i have to wish them good luck, and hope for the best.  There are some 
good people working on THAAD, hopefully they will do well.


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