Re: Current status of Ada?

[<adaworks@sbcglobal.net>]

Hi Rod,

OK.   iFACTS is a major project.  However, it is not
very visible in the U.S.   Agree about JSF.   However,
the decision to use C++ was a bit insane.

NSA might be actually using Ada, or it might be simply
exploring it.   If they are using it, some of my former
NPS students who are now at NSA might be in the
picture somewhere.  However, I'll never know that since
they abandon all contact once they are shackled to their
cubicle at Ft Mead.

I am trying to keep an active interest in SPARK.   There are
a few professors in our formal methods area who have an
interest in SPARK and when you next visit NPS, I'll make
sure you have a chance to present a little seminar for them.

Richard
=============================================
<roderick.chapman@googlemail.com> wrote in message 
news:1188287915.362195.177670@g4g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...
> >On Aug 26, 6:51 pm, <adawo...@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>
> A few responses to a subset of Richard's points:
>
>> There is no single strong advocate for Ada at present.   There is no powerful
>> corporate sponsor as there is for Java.  There is no major Ada project that
>> is visible to the larger community of software developers.
>
> You don't consider iFACTS to be a "major" Ada project?  Perhaps you
> don't think it counts becuase it's based in the UK?
>
>
>> JSF is being developed in C++.
>
> I think we should wait for results from JSF before jumping to
> any conclusions...
>
>
>> When have we last seen any publicity about the value of Ada for some major 
>> project?
>
> See PR stuff on Praxis and AdaCore sites - iFACTS for a start.
>
>> At present, I am the last hold-out for
>> keeping
>> Ada in some small part of our curriculum.
>
> I would suggest keeping SPARK on the curriculum and just quietly
> forget to tell your colleagues that it's Ada... :-)
>
> I can think of one US government agency that's very interested
> in having faculty teach strong software engineering, static
> verification, formal methods and so on: the NSA.  We have several
> such universities doing so right now, using SPARK as the primary
> vehicle.
>
> - Rod, SPARK Team
>
>
>
>