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From: rec@dg.dg.com (Robert Cousins)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada
Subject: Re: Hypertext Ada
Message-ID: <118@dg.dg.com>
Date: 8 Mar 89 14:09:13 GMT
References: <8903071156.AA13266@wooglin.scc.com> <8903071423.AA24284@grebyn.com>
Reply-To: rec@dg.UUCP (Robert Cousins)
Organization: Data General, Westboro, MA.
List-Id: <comp.lang.ada>

In article <8903071423.AA24284@grebyn.com> karl@grebyn.com (Karl Nyberg) writes:
>I think we would do well to differentiate between the HARDWARE and the
>SOFTWARE needed to support the kinds of development activites that Bob &
>Chuck are "discussing".  [Deleted Stuff] 
>I think that one of the
>major benefits of the PC revolution was that it put the computing power in
>the hands of the users.  Moving back to a multiuser environment (be it a
>Rational or VAX, or multiuser 80X86 machine, or whatever) may be a step
>backward.  It may be more cost and productivity effective to pursue an
>alternative that spreads the computing power (even with the need for
>distributed source configuration control, etc.).   [Deleted Stuff]
>
>-- Karl --

I totally agree.  One of the major reasons why people have been slow to
adopt this approach has been the relatively high cost of machines with
sufficient power to drive a REAL development environment.  I managed the
DG AViiON workstation project and was thinking about this very issue 
from the start.  In my personal view, it makes little or no sense to have
a highly skilled (and therefore quite expensive) developer being limited
by the platform on which he/she develops.  It seems that the bare minimum
is 10 to 15 MIPS per user.  [Obviously more is nicer.]  

I invite comment on this.

Robert Cousins