Re: Yearly Fees for Support of Compiler

[sampson@cod.NOSC.MIL (Charles H. Sampson)]

In article <1991May9.072802.4925@netcom.COM> jls@netcom.COM (Jim Showalter) writes:
>If Ada compilers cost bazoodles of dollars and vendors add insult to injury
>by requiring annual support fees, is it any great mystery why those
>in academia have embraced C and C++ (both of which come with free
>compilers) in lieu of Ada? And, given that the recently educated
>go on to become industry programmers, is it any great mystery why
>Ada has not penetrated the commercial sector?

     While Ada is nowhere near the dominant force in the commercial sector,
it's a gross overstatement to say that it has not penetrated.  There are
many examples of commercial uses of Ada already and the number is growing.
In most cases, but not all, these uses are occuring in major companies that
have done the cost/benefit analysis and decided that Ada is worthwhile over
the long haul.

                               Charlie