Re: Ada is getting more popular!

["Dmitry A. Kazakov" <mailbox@dmitry-kazakov.de>]

On Mon, 25 Oct 2010 10:07:35 +0200, Georg Bauhaus wrote:

> On 10/25/10 9:52 AM, Dmitry A. Kazakov wrote:
>> On Mon, 25 Oct 2010 02:12:20 +0200, Georg Bauhaus wrote:
> 
>>> As for existing companies offering compilers,  you have mentioned
>>> RRSoftware, there are more Ada companies, some of them offer
>>> compilers at quite the usual prices. You'll have to ask, though.
>>
>> I doubt that there is a single company which earns anything from selling
>> compilers. Those who sell or give compilers for free refund from somewhere
>> else.
> 
> Support, seminars, standard libraries on request, targeting
> new platforms, and all forms of consultancy, as sources of
> income,you mean?

[harmful, at best useless] tool chains, subscriptions to bug fixing,
projects unrelated to compiler design, and, yes, consultancy. At this point
I can but resist to cite this story from J. R. Stern:

"Once upon a time there was a shepherd tending his sheep at
the edge of a country road. A brand new Jeep Grand Cherokee
screeches to a halt next to him. The driver, a young man
dressed in a Brioni suit, Cerrutti shoes, Ray-Ban glasses,
Jovial Swiss wrist watch and a Bhs tie, gets out and asks
the shepherd:

"If I guess how many sheep you have, will you give me one
of them?" The shepherd looks at the young man, then looks
at the sprawling field of sheep and says: "Okay."

The young man parks the SUV, connects his notebook and
wireless modem, enters a NASA site, scans the ground using
his GPS, opens a database and 60 Excel tables filled with
algorithms, then prints a 150 page report on his high tech
mini printer. He then turns to the shepherd and says: "You
have exactly 1,586 sheep here."

The shepherd answers: "That's correct, you can have your
sheep." The young man takes one of the animals and puts it
in the back of his vehicle. The shepherd looks at him and
asks: "Now, if I guess your profession, will you pay me
back in kind?"

The young man answers: "Sure." The shepherd says: "You are
a consultant." "Exactly!  How did you know," asks the young
man?

"Very simple," answers the shepherd. "First, you came here
without being called. Second, you charged me a fee to tell
me something I already knew. Third, you do not understand
anything about my business, and I'd really like to have my
dog back." 

>> This model (also known from Socialism) is not sustainable, so we are
>> observing the number of compilers for all languages declining, not just for
>> Ada.
> 
> Again, I'll welcome some interesting numbers.

Want me run a study why wealth re-distribution creates poverty? (:-))

-- 
Regards,
Dmitry A. Kazakov
http://www.dmitry-kazakov.de