Re: Increased Interest In Ada?

[Cesar Rabak <csrabak@uol.com.br>]

Marin David Condic wrote:
> 
> I've seen plenty of development kits wherein some company will sell you a
> developmental version of their SBC, the cross compiler, (related tools), cable to
> your PC & documentation for in the neighborhood of $500. (Of course, this is with
> C as the programming language.) That ought to be within the budget of the serious
> student if it was used for more than one class.

Besides being within the budget it must in the so called "mind share".
$500 may do a descent upgrade in the PC box (out monitor)!

Some time ago I taught in a technical school and they used some Rigel
boards (www.rigelcorp.com). They had some very affordable boards which
would be within budget even of hobbyists (IIRC < US$100).

In this price range, I'm affraid we'll get stuck to the present
situation! Only people who 'fall in love with Ada' will purchase for
their own...


> It would at least be within the
> budget of the school's computer lab to have 3 or 4 available for student's to do
> their lab work on. A company selling the kit might give away several sets of their
> documentation or make them available at an inexpensive price, so I don't see much
> standing in the way of students getting the material they need.

Yes, for schools' labs this is a feasible range.
Also I think you're quite right one (or more, let's try to be optimistic
;-) textbooks will also make a difference.

> 
> The real problem is having a similar environment with an Ada compiler. No
> technical reason why it couldn't exist at a similar price - just apparently not an
> economic powerhouse or someone would have likely done it by now.
> 

Yes I feel this is turning to be the 'chicken and egg' problem. As the
perceived use of Ada is diminishing, the perceived opportunity for the
teaching material has the same trend. Also be in the corporate or
embedded systems realms, less and less Ada is being tought as a
"mainstream" language. So right now nor the powerhouse, it seems to be
seen as a flashlight battery!


> (My favorite Alan Greenspan joke: Greenspan is walking down the street with his
> wife. His wife sees a $20 bill on the ground and points it out to Alan. He
> replies: "You must be mistaken dear. If there were a $20 bill on the ground,
> someone would have picked it up by now!")

Neat!