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=-1.9 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00 autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,88ed72d98e6b3457 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2003-10-06 06:12:37 PST Path: archiver1.google.com!news1.google.com!newsfeed.stanford.edu!headwall.stanford.edu!newshub.sdsu.edu!elnk-nf2-pas!newsfeed.earthlink.net!stamper.news.pas.earthlink.net!stamper.news.atl.earthlink.net!newsread2.news.atl.earthlink.net.POSTED!not-for-mail Message-ID: <3F816A35.4030108@noplace.com> From: Marin David Condic User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.0.1) Gecko/20020823 Netscape/7.0 (OEM-HPQ-PRS1C03) X-Accept-Language: en-us, en MIME-Version: 1.0 Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Re: Standard Library Interest? References: <3F7F760E.2020901@comcast.net> <3F8035B0.7080902@noplace.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Date: Mon, 06 Oct 2003 13:12:37 GMT NNTP-Posting-Host: 209.165.26.175 X-Complaints-To: abuse@earthlink.net X-Trace: newsread2.news.atl.earthlink.net 1065445957 209.165.26.175 (Mon, 06 Oct 2003 09:12:37 EDT) NNTP-Posting-Date: Mon, 06 Oct 2003 09:12:37 EDT Organization: EarthLink Inc. -- http://www.EarthLink.net Xref: archiver1.google.com comp.lang.ada:305 Date: 2003-10-06T13:12:37+00:00 List-Id: I didn't say you didn't. What I said was that Ada has a 10 year cycle (more or less) for revising the standard. Do you think it likely that the next revision review will start in 2005 given that there is, as of yet, no Ada0x and at best it would be Ada04? Hence, I take exception to the notion that there is really a 5 year cycle. Its more like 5 years *after* a language standard has been issued a new review will be initiated. But then you've got maybe another 5 years of reviewing, etc., before the *next* standard would be issued. Mind you, I'm not being critical or trying to say it is a bad thing. A standard needs some kind of stability or the compiler writers would be shooting at a moving target and the developers would have no clue as to what they could count on. What I *am* saying is that if Ada is going to have some kind of Conventional Ada Library full of tools, that the Ada language standard is the entirely wrong place to put it. (At least initially - the standard could accept parts of it down the road if it was viewed as stable and something that belonged in the standard.) A library needs to be able to be revised and extended *QUICKLY* (relative to the standard - say quarterly or semi-annualy) in order to react to rapidly changing events in the computer biz. If someone comes up with a new communication interface or file format or internet protocol and your library is supporting the general concept around that, you need to make additions or changes to your library to accommodate it or you're dead in the water with a useless product. If someone comes up with some whiz-bang new Internet thingie and Ada says "Yeah, that's cool. We'll have an interface for that in *TEN YEARS* when the new ARM comes out..." what will the users do? They'll go to Java or C++ or whoever is the first one to give them the interface. Ada has *got* to find a way to provide lots more utility to the end-user and it needs to do so *quickly*. If it isn't with a Conventional Ada Library, then make it something else. Basically, I think we end up in the dustbin of history if we don't find a way to make Ada more useful and react quickly to customer demands. The users *have* and *will* go elsewhere if you don't provide what they want. MDC Martin Dowie wrote: > > > But we did have the TC in 2000 > > -- ====================================================================== Marin David Condic I work for: http://www.belcan.com/ My project is: http://www.jsf.mil/NSFrames.htm Send Replies To: m c o n d i c @ a c m . o r g "All reformers, however strict their social conscience, live in houses just as big as they can pay for." --Logan Pearsall Smith ======================================================================