Re: Govern.Comp.News editorial says "Drop Ada Mandate"

[agate!howland.reston.ans.net!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!darwin.sura.net!seas.g wu.edu!mfeldman@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU (Michael Feldman)]

In article <22430.744913371@blackbird> munck@STARS.Reston.Paramax.COM writes:
>
[good stuff deleted]

>Although they sometimes do, the US Government and the DoD in
>particular cannot work this way.  The success of a DoD software
>project is not based on the ratio of sales to development cost,
>but rather on usability and life-cycle cost.  "Usability" often
>includes not causing loss of human life.  Given this huge
>difference, I don't see how a case can be made for the DoD
>using C just because commercial companies writing things like
>computer games do.  It's the equivalent of saying that the Air
>Force shouldn't have supersonic airplanes because no commercial
>American airline does.

Hear, hear!
>
>(BTW, I personally put much of the blame for industry's lousy
>long-term management on Ronald Reagan and the Harvard Business
>School.  Some may argue with that, but please not in Info-Ada
>or c.l.a).

Oh, I second that. Flames by e-mail, or better to /dev/null.

Mike Feldman