From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.5-pre1 (2020-06-20) on ip-172-31-74-118.ec2.internal X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=0.8 required=3.0 tests=BAYES_50,LOTS_OF_MONEY autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.5-pre1 Date: 9 Apr 93 16:09:44 GMT From: cis.ohio-state.edu!news.sei.cmu.edu!fs7.ece.cmu.edu!europa.eng.gtefsd.com !news.ans.net!howland.reston.ans.net!bogus.sura.net!darwin.sura.net!jabba.ess.h arris.com!mlb.semi.harris.com! (simonian richard 66449) Subject: Re: Harris Corp., or a measure of Ada hypocrisy Message-ID: <1993Apr9.160944.7388@mlb.semi.harris.com> List-Id: In article srctran@world.std.com (Gregory Aharonian) writes: > > Recently I came across annoucement from Harris that indirectly measures "indirectly" is certainly the operative word here. You're finding a correlation where none exists. >the hypocrisy in the Mandated world with regards to Ada. First Harris. > In an effort to do some goodwill, and to seed for future customers, >Harris recently did a very generous thing: they donate $7 million dollars >of equipment to the academic world. Here's a mention I saw in the academic >computing journal T.H.E.: > ... > About $7 million worth of Harris Computer Systems > Division's Night Hawl real-time computers, along with > related software, will enhance engineering and scientific > research programs. Schools were choosen from applicants > seeking super-fast computer processing capabilities for > various research efforts in the physical and biological > sciences. [some more about specific projects] > >Kudos to Harris for the contribution to the academic community (though >as a slight kidding to Harris, I suspect these were their Forth-based >real-time processors coming from an Mandated Ada participant). Not only Get your facts straight. These are real-time Unix multiprocessor machines, produced by Harris Computer Systems Div. They might run forth as an optional product, but the certainly aren't forth-based. HCSD is a commercial division, and does much of its business with non-DoD customers. HCSD has a very active and successful Ada product that is tightly integrated with the NightHawk operating system. They were the first company to release a product conforming to the POSIX 1003.5 standard (Ada bindings). > Why does Harris do this? It believes in its product, and wants to see >its product succeed, and is willing to spend its money pursuing this goal. >Cheers for Harris. > > Where the hell then is the Ada community? Here's the leap that I don't get. The fact is that Harris has donated millions of dollars worth of hardware to local Florida colleges and universities, and has encouraged the use and teaching of Ada at these same institutions. It's a very beneficial relationship; students get access to cutting-edge hardware and software, and learn valuable software engineering techniques, while Harris gets better-qualified new hires from the local communities. If they have taken an Ada class(es), then Harris doesn't have to spend the money to train them. Our division (Harris Space Systems Corp) has hired over 140 Ada software engineers in the last 2 years alone, many from local colleges. And our job is for a non-DoD customer that does NOT have an Ada mandate. In fact, Harris believed so much that Ada was the right language to use that we spent quite a bit of effort at the beginning of the contract to convince the customer that Ada would be a more appropriate language for the project than C. Progress to date indicates, not surprisingly, that we were right. In short, I see no indication that Harris is being hypocritical, and I see every indication that Harris is encouraging an active Ada community. Rick Simonian | Internet: simonian@x102a.ess.harris.gov Harris Space Systems Corp | or... rsimonia%core1@kssib.ksc.nasa.gov Voice: 407-633-3852 | FAX: 407-633-5700 |