Re: Ada Component Registry proposal

["Robert I. Eachus" <rieachus@comcast.net>]

sk wrote:

> I am not criticizing your proposal since I have not seen it, but
> I feel that inventory and integrate *might* produce more results
> and interest in terms of not having to start all over again.

No disagreement.  But doing that inventory is WORK.  A lot of it.  If I 
am going to be doing that work, or even a small part of it, I need 
feedback.  A survey that doesn't include the right information, or is 
not in the right form, is useless.

So at this point my plan is:

1) Design a Registry.

2) Build tools to create it, maintain it and reference it.

3) Populate the Registry.

4) Repeat as needed.

It might be nice to have "official" standard status for the Registry. 
But if it exists and the Registry and supporting tools are widely used, 
it won't matter if it is a de jure or de facto standard.

Having said that I have gotten so far as:

The Registry should be an XML document.

There should be publicly accessable free software that can be used to 
reference the public registry and private or subset registries.  Of 
course, this software should be written in Ada, and be listed in the 
Registry. ;-)

For this to work, the registry is going to require lots of feedback.  As 
I said, for now I just want to send the very preliminary draft to people 
willing to read it as XML.  Soon I should have the XML solid enough to 
write a quick XML to HTML converter, and I can post the draft registry 
in html form also.  After that will come a database form with query 
tools.  But notice that the "reference" form of the registry will be an 
XML document, even if the normal use of it is to update a local database.

To misuse a great quote from Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle's Oath of 
Fealty:  "Think of it as evolution in action."  The whole idea is to 
create a process that makes reuse of Ada easier.  Evolution of the 
contents of the registry, the registry, and the registry toolset all 
need to be part of that process.

-- 
                                                     Robert I. Eachus

"Quality is the Buddha. Quality is scientific reality. Quality is the 
goal of Art. It remains to work these concepts into a practical, 
down-to-earth context, and for this there is nothing more practical or 
down-to-earth than what I have been talking about all along...the repair 
of an old motorcycle."  -- from Zen and the Art of Motorcycle 
Maintenance by Robert Pirsig