Re: An Ada Advice Inquiry

[ezkcdude <zamir.evan@gmail.com>]

I'm thinking about using Ada, but it is very scary when you see very
few projects in development.

On May 3, 10:01 pm, <adawo...@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
> I recently received an inquiry from a colleague I have
> not seen in many years.   He is currently in a position
> where he is asked to advise a client about whether to
> choose Ada or C++ for a project.   He is not a language
> junkie because his expertise is a very different level of
> software engineering, but he is a highly intelligent and
> capable consulting engineer.
>
> Perhaps that's why he inquired of me.   :-)
>
> One of the concerns is whether anyone else is choosing to
> use Ada for new projects.   He does not want to be the
> only one to make such a choice.  It is well-known that
> there are a lot of Ada software products being maintained,
> but is anyone choosing it for new projects?   Good question,
> I answer.
>
> So. What do I tell him?   At one time, I could contact the
> AJPO and ask this question.   Although they were never
> very good at providing complete information, they did have
> some knowledge of where Ada was being used for new
> projects.   Now, there is no place to look for that information.
>
> It presents a little dilemma.   If no one else is using Ada for
> new projects, he can wonder why he should be the alone
> in his decision.    If every other consultant, manager, or
> program director asks the same question, and gets no
> information about others choosing Ada, no one will want
> to make that choice.
>
> Is anyone choosing Ada for new projects?  What kind of
> projects?   Can we collect information about them and
> create a catalog of them in the adaic.com website?    If
> not, why not?
>
> The compiler publishers know who is buying their compilers,
> but they don't want to compromise customer confidentiality.
> The programmers are afraid of losing their jobs if they tell
> anyone what they are doing.  Everyone who can provide the
> information is afraid to do so.   When I was actively consulting
> on Ada, I was often told, by my client, not to tell anyone they
> were using Ada.   So.  We keep the secret.    The secret keeps
> Ada a secret.    And Ada begins to wane because no one
> wants to reveal their decision to use it.
>
> Is this a recipe for killing any incentive for choosing the language
> for future projects?   What do I tell my old friend?   Should he
> take the risk of using Ada even without the knowledge that anyone
> else is using it for real projects?    Hmmmmm.   Is anyone out there
> really choosing it for new software projects?
>
> Richard Riehle