From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-0.3 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00, REPLYTO_WITHOUT_TO_CC autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,c6c96fe0302f04f X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2002-08-19 10:05:04 PST Path: archiver1.google.com!news1.google.com!newsfeed.stanford.edu!logbridge.uoregon.edu!arclight.uoregon.edu!wn4feed!worldnet.att.net!208.49.253.98!newsfeed.news2me.com!newsfeed2.earthlink.net!newsfeed.earthlink.net!stamper.news.pas.earthlink.net!stamper.news.atl.earthlink.net!harp.news.atl.earthlink.net!not-for-mail From: Richard Riehle Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Re: Would you use Ada more if... Date: Mon, 19 Aug 2002 10:10:01 -0700 Organization: AdaWorks Software Engineering Message-ID: <3D612669.2B0BA48C@adaworks.com> References: Reply-To: richard@adaworks.com NNTP-Posting-Host: 3f.bb.81.d6 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Server-Date: 19 Aug 2002 17:05:03 GMT X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.7 [en] (Win98; I) X-Accept-Language: en Xref: archiver1.google.com comp.lang.ada:28217 Date: 2002-08-19T17:05:03+00:00 List-Id: "Marin D. Condic" wrote: > Now, while Ada has certainly come down in cost to be competitive with other > languages, it still suffers in some respects for lack of nice integrated > toolsets all available in a shrink-wrap package on the shelf at CompUSA. > Things are getting better and more/better integrated toolsets are becoming > available or are in the works. You still won't see Ada standing next to the > C/C++/Java/Basic/etc. development kits on the shelves at computer stores. It > would be good for Ada to be there. What is just as bad is that no Ada books appear on the shelves of bookstores anymore, even those that specialize in computer books. Book publishers, all of them as nearly as I can determine, have decided against publishing any new Ada books. Their view is that, once the DoD abandoned Ada, the market for Ada books would decline to a point where it would be unprofitable. At several bookstores, I even saw books on Pascal, Modula-3, and other marginal languages. People who don't see Ada in evidence anywhere are likely to thing it really is gone. At present, there is no significant effort within our industry to raise the level of visibility for Ada. No one is writing articles, and even if they do, editors are disinclined to publish anything too directly related to Ada. The best way to get an Ada article published is to write about something else and "Oh, by the way, we did this in Ada." Even the large number of stories written about the Boeing 777 rarely mention that the language used was Ada. However, when an Arianne V explodes, everyone is quick to note that it was programmed in Ada. We really need a more effective effort in PR. I continue to encounter professors where I teach who are surprised that anyone is still using Ada. A conference program chair who wanted me to present a tutorial stated emphatically, "But no Ada, please." If the new audience for Ada is not getting the message, we are in deep trouble. ACT is doing its part by providing cost-effective options for entering the world of Ada. I would be surprised if they are getting a lot of new customers just starting to use Ada for the first time. My guess is that most of the customers for most of the Ada compiler publishers are continuing from Ada 83 rather than starting new projects in Ada 95. Does anyone have better information about this? Richard Riehle