Re: Ada's Slide To Oblivion ...

["Warren W. Gay VE3WWG" <ve3wwg@home.com>]

Marin David Condic wrote:

> "Warren W. Gay VE3WWG" <ve3wwg@home.com> wrote in message
> news:3C598FF1.4040706@home.com...
> 
>>I think that even for those people that gave Ada an honest try, they still
>>tend to slide back into what they know best. Not only does one have to
>>learn the language, but they need time to discover the standard packages and the
>>different ways things need to be done in Ada (due to its software
>>engineering restrictions that are enforced). 

>>People will make a feeble attempt to start
>>something, and then hit a wall. Time runs out and they abandon the new
>>approach for a known one, in order to get the job done.
> 
> But there's a way to fix that. If a bunch of Ada die-hards who are convinced
> that it is a better way were to identify some niche of the embedded market
> that they wanted to go for and started doing it better/faster/cheaper,
> they'd start becoming very effective competition. If your competitors are
> always out the door a few months ahead of you because they aren't chasing
> bugs forever, you have to start wondering what they are doing that you
> aren't.


I agree that measurement of the competition may have its own influence.


> I think the problem has been that the guys who like Ada aren't the ones who
> go off and design embedded products. 


Probably a big part of the problem, I agree.

> Its a double-E guy who dreams up "Hey!
> I can build this nifty little board that will do this spiffy job - and oh,
> yeah, I'll have to do some software to get it all to work...". 


Thinking of someone I know who used to work in hardware, and got
pushed into software, what he would know and try would be C/C++.
Ada would be that strange thing he heard about in the distant
past. So I think part of the trouble is "Ada image" and awareness.

The other problem is, as you've pointed out, he is not a software
guy. But he's going to attempt it anyway, because he wants to. C
is easy to work in and so even given a choice between C and Ada,
he'll take the easiest route (not knowing that it will cost him
time debugging etc. later).

> What if we
> Ada guys turned that around? "Hey, I've got this spiffy idea for a neat
> software system and all I'll need is a couple of SBC's that can drive these
> devices....." I keep kicking around a few of those ideas in my copius spare
> time. :-)
> 
> MDC


Even when the guy has an Ada software expert nearby, given the opportunity

to do it himself, I expect he will, in C (unless he understands the profit

side of the exercise, and has a direct motive in this area).


I'm not sure what the answer is, but you've hit one of the embedded systems
area problems on the head, I think. One solution is a better image for Ada,
and thus better awareness on the part of owner/managers of these types of
projects.

The other factor that keeps coming up is this "hiring for Ada programmers"

thing. This was the very first objection when I mentioned Ada at my

work. The merits of the language never even started the discussion. So

I hope that with GNAT, open source and interest in Ada in the Universities,
that this situation may someday change. I just hope it's not too late.

-- 
Warren W. Gay VE3WWG
http://home.cogeco.ca/~ve3wwg