Re: Is Ada a commercial language ? (was: SEIC News Brief...)

[kilgallen@eisner.decus.org (Larry Kilgallen)]

In article <32AF0396.BB6@thomsoft.com>, Dave Wood <dpw@thomsoft.com> writes:
> Laurent Gasser wrote:

>> As a customer, willing to get a new application solving one of my needs,
>> I have to upgrade to the version of the system developers had chosen.
>> In many cases, this implies an upgrade of the hardware to keep up with
>> the extra burden of the new system.  In some cases, the new hardware
>> only comes with a more recent version of the system, which is no more
>> compatible with the software originally selected by the customer... ;-)
>> 
>> I know no other industry so able to drive consumers to consume.
>> 
> 
> It seems to me this is just the nature of a rapidly evolving
> technology.  When hardware or software vendors are able to 
> present a persuasive argument that their latest product is
> vastly superior to the one on your desk, you feel compelled
> to buy.  When enough people buy, the preceding product 
> becomes obsolete, requiring everyone else to buy in as well.

The product becomes "obsolete" only if it no longer serves the
purpose of a user.  I am quite happy with the PIM I use, even
though the vendor just went out of business.  The fact that they
could not get enough others to buy does not reduce the usefulness
to me.

The software vendors who must support older versions are those
whose product is _not_ the basis for buying a computer.  Nobody
upgrades their OS just to support a product which is a minor part
of their use of the machine.  Vendors of such products must be
adaptive and look forward to many years of supporting Windows 3.1,
DOS and MacOS System 6 if they want to maintain popularity with
customers.

> In a few years, you will feel compelled to buy new TV sets
> simply because the software (broadcast signal), while still
> backward compatible with your current sets, will be horribly
> constrained in comparison to its digital decendent.

Not based on the programming currently available !!!

> An analogy might be that you are a great fan of ObjectAda
> for Windows (blush!), and even though you think MacOS or
> OS/2 are superior to Windows 95, you aren't willing to
> change your OS because you can't bear to live without
> your ObjectAda.
> 
> Hey, it could happen.

That is where Standards come in.  If ObjectAda provides a
great development environment (the jury is still out, but
at least it doesn't think it is Unix), we can do the bulk
of our work there and then switch to the Tenon environment
for the _real_ builds (so long as we don't need 68K for
now).  Someday perhaps someone will build a MacOS Ada IDE
the equal of Think Pascal.

Hey, it could happen :-)

Larry Kilgallen