Re: Standard Library Interest?

[Marin David Condic <nobody@noplace.com>]

Well, I could quit talking about it and maybe even devote some time to 
building it. Why not start with the Booch components? Or Grace? Or 
Charles? Or PragmAda? Or any of the others I've forgot to mention? Would 
the vendors get on board and say "If you guys shut up and start 
programming on top of XYZ library, we'll put it into our next release 
and start calling it the Conventional Ada Library..." I could get with 
that program, but I'd like to see some of the folks that matter say 
something about what they'd accept or reject. If none of those is 
suitable, then lets hear them say that - and then say something about 
what they *would* accept.

I don't even think it would need to be all the vendors. Look at it this 
way: Some of the vendors are out there actively developing their 
compilers and looking to improve their toolsets. Others are content to 
"milk the cash-cow" - they have an Ada compiler to sell but don't see it 
as an important future product so they do as little as is necessary to 
support it. They may not even see enough potential there to make it 
worth their time to upgrade it to Ada0x, so do they even count? How many 
of the vendors fall into the first category? Who are they? What if we 
got just those vendors to discuss it and express some opinions on what 
they'd like?

I don't think I'm asking for the moon and the sun and the stars here. 
Just some minimal display of interest and some guidance on 
priorities/requirements on the part of a small handful of vendors who 
stand to benefit by having their product improved at little to no cost 
to them - at least initially. Does that seem so unreasonable?

I'd be happy to discuss it with them off-line. All it takes is to send 
me an e-mail.

MDC



Robert I. Eachus wrote:
> 
> 
> I have probably spent more time talking here than I should, and less 
> time actually working on a library (or a registry).  Getting the 
> concepts right, and the library design right is worth a lot of effort, 
> but too many decent efforts have died from too much discussion and not 
> enough commitment. (In the sense of putting something on the table and 
> either voting to accept it, or deciding how to improve it.)


-- 
======================================================================
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
======================================================================