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=-0.8 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,INVALID_DATE autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 10fec3,ef0074ec236ba6e3 X-Google-Attributes: gid10fec3,public X-Google-Thread: 109fba,ef0074ec236ba6e3 X-Google-Attributes: gid109fba,public X-Google-Thread: 108717,ef0074ec236ba6e3 X-Google-Attributes: gid108717,public X-Google-Thread: 108a70,ef0074ec236ba6e3 X-Google-Attributes: gid108a70,public X-Google-Thread: 103376,b19fa62fdce575f9 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-Thread: 1108a1,ef0074ec236ba6e3 X-Google-Attributes: gid1108a1,public X-Google-Thread: 1014db,ef0074ec236ba6e3 X-Google-Attributes: gid1014db,public X-Google-Thread: 111308,ef0074ec236ba6e3 X-Google-Attributes: gid111308,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 1994-11-15 10:38:12 PST Path: nntp.gmd.de!xlink.net!howland.reston.ans.net!math.ohio-state.edu!cs.utexas.edu!newsfeed.rice.edu!news.sesqui.net!uuneo.neosoft.com!Starbase.NeoSoft.COM!not-for-mail From: dweller@Starbase.NeoSoft.COM (David Weller) Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada,comp.lang.c,comp.programming,comp.lang.c++,comp.object,comp.databases.sybase,comp.databases.oracle,comp.client-server Subject: Re: Why don't large companies use Ada? Date: 15 Nov 1994 05:55:36 -0600 Organization: NeoSoft Internet Services +1 713 684 5969 Message-ID: <3aa7jo$7j@Starbase.NeoSoft.COM> References: <3a6oc5$dkh@nntp1.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: starbase.neosoft.com Xref: nntp.gmd.de comp.lang.ada:16722 comp.lang.c:68608 comp.programming:12814 comp.lang.c++:78984 comp.object:17425 comp.databases.sybase:13012 comp.databases.oracle:22231 comp.client-server:6839 Date: 1994-11-15T05:55:36-06:00 List-Id: In article , Brian J. Zimbelman wrote: >In article beckwb@ois.com (R. William Beckwith) writes: > >[much discussion of ADA, why it is/isn't great deleted] > >I think one major reason has been omitted from the discussion. A major factor >in what language I develop in is what language the company/department already >has invested in. By itself, this is a compelling argument regardless of whether it's Fortran, Assembler, C++, or any other language. This argument is the "Appeal to Momentum". It's a cool argument for something other than Ada 9X, but with the ability of Ada to interface to C/Fortran/Cobol (and with SGI's cool demonstration of inheriting from C++ classes), this becomes a less significant issue. I claim the argument is less compelling when considering Ada (but certainly not enough to make a manager change their mind...yet). >Ada developers are rare. C/C++ developers are all over the >place. I disagree here. For two reasons: 1) Ada developers aren't "rare", just less visible. Unfortunately, I know LOTS of ex-Ada people stuck in C++ jobs that would jump to Ada again if they could. 2) It's "C" developers that are "all over the place". There is, from my personal observation, a dearth of C++ developers. Many companies are hiring C programmers now and training them in C++. I agree with Bill Beckwith here -- it takes less time to create a productive Ada developer than it does to create a productive C++ developer, even if they only have a C background. >Therefore, most of the time, my customers want the product in C or >C++. The price of software is not how much it costs to develop it, but how >much it costs to maintain it. If I can't find a developer who knows the >language it was developed in, then I chose the wrong language no matter how >cheap the initial development was. Oh, and personally I'd choose smalltalk >over all other languages if it was up to me, but the guy with the check in his >hands chooses, and that ain't me! > Boy, I"m confused. YOu mean to tell me that it's LESS expensive to use a langauge that has been empirically proven to be less reliable, because it's cheaper to find/train a developer in that language? Why not get a language that provides more maintainable code, thus requiring less people (which is the REAL cost factor). -- Proud (and vocal) member of Team Ada! (and Team OS/2) ||This is not your Ada -- Very Cool. Doesn't Suck. || father's Ada For all sorts of interesting Ada tidbits, run the command: ||________________ "finger dweller@starbase.neosoft.com | more" (or e-mail with "finger" as subj.) ObNitPick: Spelling Ada as ADA is like spelling C++ as CPLUSPLUS. :-)