Re: DII COE bars Ada -> Java compilation

["Marc A. Criley" <marc.a.criley@lmco.com>]

Given the resounding repudiation of the this prohibition against Ada (or
other language) to Java compilers, I'd like to try to get it removed.

Though I'm not working on a DII COE compliant program, I'm going to try
to look at and work the process to get it removed.  If anyone
(particularly among those responding) has any technical material, white
papers, etc., with which to buttress this effort, I would be happy to
incorporate those into this drive.

Alternatively, if someone feels they're in a better position to attack
this issue now that it's been identified, I'll defer to and support
them.

Thanks for the responses.

Marc A. Criley
Software Architect
Lockheed Martin M&DS
marc.a.criley@lmco.com


"Marc A. Criley" wrote:
> 
> To Ada to JBC compiler vendors:
> 
> Section 8.2.3 (Miscellaneous) of the Defense Information Infrastructure
> Common Operating Environment (DII COE) Integration & Run-Time
> Specification (I&RTS) v4.0 states that "Developers shall not use
> compilers designed to convert code developed in other languages (e.g.,
> Ada, C++) to create Java byte-codes. This restriction is important
> because such compilers may inadvertently bypass intended Java security
> features."
> 
> Is this a legitimate concern?  I can kinda see how it might be, since
> for instance Java forbids things like uninitialized objects (though I
> vaguely recall some kind of exception to that), which Ada permits.  I
> suspect I could probably come up with some other potential problems if I
> dug into it.
> 
> If the Ada to JBC compilers do not introduce the security risks that the
> I&RTS warns about, some educating is clearly called for.
> 
> Marc A. Criley
> Software Architect
> Lockheed Martin M&DS
> marc.a.criley@lmco.com