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From: eberard@ajpo.sei.cmu.edu (Edward Berard)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada,comp.software-eng
Subject: "Forced to Use Ada"
Keywords: Ada, mandate
Message-ID: <470@ajpo.sei.cmu.edu>
Date: 22 Feb 89 10:56:04 GMT
List-Id: <comp.lang.ada>

Occasionally, there are postings to various news groups about how
awful it is that many people are forced to use Ada. I think that some
of these posters would be surprised to know that a majority of Ada
users worldwide use Ada because they want to, not because of any
mandate. For example, in Europe much more than 50% of the money spent
on Ada software is spent by those who have no mandate to use Ada,
i.e., they are free to use any technology they wish.

Here, in the U.S., I have a significant number of clients who use Ada
by choice. Further, they have no connection with the government --
direct or indirect. Some of these clients are implementing real-time
systems, others are creating large number-crunching applications, and
still others are doing classic business applications. (I have several
stories about how these people were able to sell Ada technology
internally on its own merits.)

Often, commercial users of Ada technology do not come to Ada meetings,
or they may come only occasionally. Several, are forbidden by their
management to inform the world of their Ada efforts because management
does not want the competition to know what is happening.

One of the more prominent myths about technology is that if a
technology is truly worthwhile that it will be automatically
recognized as such, and that users will flock to it in droves. Tell
that to Galileo who was threatened because he said the earth revolved
around the sun, or to Pasteur and Lister who suggested that infections
were the result of ``invisible'' organisms, and had to fight for
acceptance. 

Yes, it is unfortunate that the U.S. Department of Defense had to
mandate a technology. However, that does not mean that the mandated
technology is without merit.

[On another note: Have you noticed how many vendors of Ada technology
are totally incapable of selling their technology to anyone who does
not have the a gun (i.e., a DoD mandate) held to their head? It is
just possible that the technology can stand on its own merits.]

				-- Ed Berard
				   (301) 695-6960