Re: Need help with PowerPC/Ada and realtime tasking

[rec@ocsystems.com (Ralph E. Crafts)]

Darren C Davenport (ddavenpo@redwood.dn.hac.com) wrote:
: JP Thornley <jpt@diphi.demon.co.uk> wrote:
: >I was beginning to wonder whether I was the only reader of cla still 
: >using Ada 83 until there were some recent posts from others in the same 
: >situation in another thread.  To put my situation more clearly, there is 
: >one safety-critical system going into system design later this year, 
: >first trails to be run in 1998 and delivery to the customer in 2000 
: >onwards - this system will use Ada 83 as the Ada 95 compilers won't be 
: >usable in that timescale.
: >
: >Phil Thornley


: Doesn't OC systems sell an Ada95 compiler for the PowerPC that's been
: validated?
: Seems like you ought to check out what the vendors provide before saying
: that there won't be any Ada95 compilers in that timescale.

: Darren

Thank you, Darren, for mentioning our Ada 95 compiler.  I have refrained
from weighing in on this thread up to now, but now I have to respond.

As all experienced Ada people know, validation does not automatically
equate to usable.  In my 15+ years in the Ada market, I have seen 
innumerable instances where validated compilers were just awful.  

In the case of the OC Systems product, PowerAda, we have been shipping
the product, and our customers have been using it, for several years.
The Ada 95 compiler was validated in December 1995, and has been 
shipping as part of the product since January.  The fact is, our
customers are using PowerAda for Ada 95 development--the product is
usable now.  

This is not to say that PowerAda is perfect, nor is "all" of Ada 95 
included--we will continue to improve and add additional features, 
including the Ada 95 Annexes.  I don't believe that Phil is accurate
in his statement that Ada 95 compilers "won't be usable" in the period
from now to 1998-2000.  

For embedded safety-critical systems, we validated using LynxOS (in 
addition to AIX).  LynxOS has been used in many safety-critical systems,
and has been certified by organizations such as the FAA and NASA for 
such applications.  LynxOS has also met or exceeded some commercial
certification requirements for medical applications.  It is POSIX 
compliant, and supported worldwide (as is PowerAda).

For the record, OC Systems is more than willing to work with companies/
organizations to implement Ada 95 features which are necessary for the
kinds of applications described by Phil.  I certainly believe that our
product can support his needs in the timeframe he describes.

Best regards to all,

--Ralph Crafts


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