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From: "Gary L. Scott" <scottg@flash.net>
Subject: Re: Programming language vote - results
Date: 1997/10/13
Message-ID: <3442C942.8F041C98@flash.net>#1/1
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References: <343fbb5a.0@news.iprolink.ch> <343FD05C.8986A557@flash.net>
 <3441B496.41C6@lmco.com> <344285e6.78444776@news.mindspring.com>
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Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada,comp.lang.fortran
Date: 1997-10-13T00:00:00+00:00
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Robert Munck wrote:

> On Sun, 12 Oct 1997 23:41:42 -0600, Jack Rudd <jack.rudd@lmco.com>
> wrote:
>
> >Gary L. Scott wrote:
> >>
> >> Oh the horror stories about Ada just about anyone in the defense
> >> industry could tell you...(inefficiency, bloat, development delays,
>
> >> budget overruns)...
> >...
> >Problems along the above lines helped get a very large defense
> >project cancelled that was near and dear to me.   I may never
> >forgive the folks who pushed OO in Ada on that project.
>
> Ada turned out to be an excellent scapegoat for the many
> management failures that are found in software projects in
> general and large projects done by large contractors for the
> DoD in particular.  It will be interesting to see what gets
> the blame now that "you don't have Ada to kick around anymore."
> I'll bet that it's Microsoft and/or Sun.
>
> Bob Munck
> Mill Creek Systems LC

I agree completely that there were many short-sighted decisions being
made by both management and our customers.  However, I don't understand
the "don't have Ada..." comment.  We are still using and still being
directed to use Ada by our customers on "new" projects.

Very few of us are against Ada or "OO" or the attempts to solve the
"language proliferation, maintenance/reusability" issues.  I am against
not being allowed to make the decision as to which language best solves
the problem that I have to solve and being dictated to meet cost and
schedules based upon historical data that involved using a different
programming language, especially when I have little or no experience in
the new language.  Let me decide where I can implement an "OO" design
and where I can't rather than making arbitrary/blanket requirements for
"pure OO" development.  Let me develop the skills on a small project
first.  Doesn't that make more sense?


--
Gary L. Scott
scottg@flash.net