Re: "is ada dead?" A challenge for all of us?

[Al Christians <achrist@easystreet.com>]

"Marc A. Criley" wrote:
> 
> "chris.danx" wrote:
> >
> >
> > What other features would you like to see?  What features would you not like to
> > see?
> 
> 
> Providing those features in a Visual Studio like IDE would obviously
> expand the potential developer base.
> 

Start with Visual Studio and Delphi, list the features, and divide them
into categories, eg  features to jettison, features to copy, features
to do better than they do them.  If you don't have some good number of
items on the 'do better' list, then maybe you should look at Mjolnar's
Beta IDE (free download available).  That has UML integrated into the 
IDE, and "supports a smooth transition from design diagrams to 
implementation code and vice versa. The design notation is a graphical 
syntax" (quote from their docs).  This would be roughly equivalent of
attempting to integerate a graphical case tool like Rose or Together 
into the IDE.  

Short of that, look at Genitor.  This also maintains a high-level view
of
the code, but it is more text-oriented and syntax-oriented than design-
oriented.  Nonetheless, if you are looking to make Ada more popular, you
will have to deal with beginners, and having an IDE that helps them
write
correct code and lets them fill in the blanks to write a program that 
compiles would be great.  


Al