Re: Ada certification cost.

[drm1@vrdxhq.UUCP (Donn Milton)]

> Indeed, certification is one of the steps in the validation process.
> The vendor runs the test suite in-house, before the testers come out.
> Apparently the certification output is forwarded to the validation
> people; they want to clear up ambiguities before the official run.  I'm
> not sure why this is; with validation at around $10,000 a shot
> [estimate--they don't seem to publicize the cost], you'd figure that
> developers would be REALLY SURE they got it right first!  Last I heard,
> the "real" test suite may include programs not available during the
> certification phase.
> 
> And yes, at this point every host X target X operating system needs a
> separate validation, and every validation must be renewed annually.

There seems to be some confusion about the terms "certification",
"validation", etc.  We have recently been through the validation
process, and the story is this:

  The term "certification", which used to mean that the vendor
  claimed to have passed the ACVC test suite, no longer has any
  official status.

  The term "prevalidation" is used to describe the process whereby
  a vendor runs the ACVC test suite at its own site and sends the
  results to an Ada Validation Facility (AVF).  The AVF reviews
  the results, and when it agrees that all applicable tests have
  been passed, the compiler can be described as "prevalidated".

  The term "validation" is used to describe the on-site execution
  of the tests under the supervision of AVF personnel.  The AVF
  will only perform a validation on a compiler that has been
  prevalidated.  When that AVF is satisfied that the compiler has passed
  all applicable tests, the compiler can be described as "validated".

  Compilers must be revalidated annually for a vendor to continue
  to describe them as validated.  Currently, validations performed
  by the AVF at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base cost about $15,000.

Donn Milton
Verdix Corporation