Re: Improving Ada's image - Was: 7E7 Flight Controls Electronics

["Per Dalgas Jakobsen" <i@hate.spam>]

>>> But how can we get the attention of the executives?
>>> Let the brainstorm start ;-)
>>
>> That's the real problem :)
>
> No, the real problem is that executives = management and management =
> morons and morons are in charge.

Well, I understand your view, but I have (almost) never seen a person that
acted irrational, when seing things from a certain point of view.
That view might not be yours for several reasons, one being that you know
more about some stuff than they do or visa versa.

I have more than once looked at a decision and thought: "Now they went mad",
but later found out that the stuff have become a political "hot potato".
Again, reasonable seing stuff from the political angle, but completely
old-fashioned-foot-shooting seing it from a any other angle.
The problem being most project managers do not have the courage to put their
reputation at stake to make an unorthodox decision, because all the other
project managers will know immediately where to point fingers if the project
runs off track, disregarding the real reason (the majority are right...).

Thats why it makes no sense to try forcing Ada from the bottom up (even
though Linux seems to have accomplished that to a certain extend), but let
it enter at top level and let the executives suggest it, so the project
managers have their backs free.


One way to get their attention could be to suggest Berkeley or Oxford (or
whoever makes these kinds of analyses) to make a thorough investigations
based on real business cases, with help from "people in the business" = us,
and make them do all the economical consequence maths, for very small
projects with no safety critical issues, to very large projects with all the
whistles and bells.

If (or hopefully when) their results shows that the current accepted
business model with C/C++ is a very bumpy one, and that a business model
based on Ada would result in a significant profit and lower risk, then I'm
pretty sure that such a result will be published in all financial magazines
world-wide.
Software is big business, and a low-risk path to increased profit is
something that will generate a "certain" interest.


So anyone knows a (preferably respected) business university professor that
might be interested? ;-)

Per