AdaSAGE

AdaSAGE

[Michael Samuels]

I recently attended a discussion of AdaSAGE, a non-relational
DBMS written in Ada that provides non-SQL query capabilities.
The product is touted as an alternative to the Ada/SQL binding
problem.  Does anyone have any experiences using the tool?  Any
detailed descriptions of what it really does?  It is not clear
to me why I should give up the features of commercial DBMS
packages just because no standard Ada/SQL binding exists.  Any
comments?  

I will post a summary to the net if there are enough responses.
Thanks for you help.


Michael Samuels 			The MITRE Corporation
samuels@community-chest.mitre.org	Mailstop Z676
(703) 883-7828 				7525 Colshire Drive
FAX: (703) 883-5519			McLean, VA 22102    

Re: AdaSAGE

[Tucker Taft]

In article <94342@linus.UUCP>, samuels@chance.uucp (Michael Samuels) writes:
>. . . just because no standard Ada/SQL binding exists.  Any
> comments?  

An ANSI standard Ada/SQL binding does exist, using the
SQL Module language.  Furthermore, Marc Graham at the SEI
(marc@sei.cmu.edu) is in the process of defining
a more user/Ada friendly standard Ada/SQL binding
with full approval of AJPO, and hopefully ultimate
international standardization.  This binding is called 
"SAME" (SQL/Ada Module Extensions).

S. Tucker Taft
Intermetrics, Inc.
Cambridge, MA  02138   stt%inmet@uunet.uu.net  taft@ajpo.sei.cmu.edu
(617) 661-1840

Re: AdaSAGE

[D. Gerald Forrest]

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>>In the message Message-ID:
>><hansonj.7.000830F7@mqg-smtp3.usmc.mil>,
>>    Jeff Hanson asked:
>>
>>Is there any real use for Ada Sage out in the world?  I had the
>>opportunity to work with it for a few months and I was wondering if 
>>there was any real reason to keep up with it.  I haven't really heard
>>too much about it being used for anything.  Any comments are welcome.


>That depends on how you define the world.  There is not a
>lot of usage outside of the government, but there is some (less than 50
>systems).  If you mean the world outside of the USMC, there is a huge 
>user base in all of the services as well as the Dept of Energy.  A number 
>of "Purple" systems are being written/re-engineered using the libraries. 
>In addition, there are a number of users outside the U.S..  AdaSAGE has 
>actually been better recieved in Europe than in the U.S.

>    Incidentally, were you in Oki in '91?

>Wayne R. Lawton


By way of introduction, I am associated with the U.S. DOE facility, the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) which is the Core Competence Center for AdaSAGE.  Based in the U.K., I am responsible for the exploitation of  'dual use' opportunities for INEL technologies over here in countries of the European Union and Scandinavia.  AdaSAGE is one such 'dual use' technology. 
 
I would like to respond with comments on AdaSAGE in a number of ways.  Firstly I will provide a general response here for public viewing. Secondly, I will be pleased to provide more detailed information in response to individual enquiries which should be sent to me by E-mail at dgf@inel.gov.

In respect of the original posting which appears have USMC affiliation, I have passed a note of that on to my colleague Major Gerald DePasquale USMC, MCCTA (CTA-30).  Major DePasquale is a member of the AdaSAGE Engineering Management Group (EMG) and I have no doubt that he will be pleased handle that enquiry off-line in respect of the value and importance of AdaSAGE to USMC.

In terms of Users in the U.S., the breakdown of Users / Category is approximately
as follows:-
                        USAF  50%
                        USMC  19%
                        Navy  19%
                        Army  6%
                        Private Industry  6%

In respect of Worldwide Users and usage of AdaSAGE, there are literally thousands of people using the technology and product.  The following paragraphs are based on extracts from statements which we have published elsewhere.  

Under the direction of the AdaSAGE EMG, the U.S. national release of the source code of AdaSAGE was made available on CD-ROM from the U.S. Marine Corps booth at the Software Technology Conference held in Salt Lake City in April 1994.  A very high level of interest in AdaSAGE was evident and 378 enquirers received a copy of the CD-ROM.

Since April 1994 I have released in excess of 250 copies of the AdaSAGE on CD-ROM in countries of the European Union and Scandinavia.

I undertook the first international release of the source code of AdaSAGE at the Ada in Sweden conference on 19 April 1994.  In that instance 64 copies of the AdaSAGE CD-ROM were issued. A further release occurred at the Ada in Norway conference on 20 April 1994 where 11 CD-ROMs were released.  More recently releases were made at the Ada in Europe symposium, Copenhagen, 26 to 30 September 1994.  This ongoing release activity also now provides opportunities for obtaining copies of the AdaSAGE CD-ROM through

 Ada Belgium, Ada in Denmark, Ada Deutschland, Ada France, Ada Greece, Ada Italy, Ada Nederland, Ada Scotland, Ada Spain, Ada in Switzerland and Ada UK.

We continue to vigorously pursue the objective of introducing AdaSAGE into all courses, as part of the course work and also for research projects in European Union and Scandinavian national academic institutions.  For example, such objectives were presented at the Annual General Meeting of the United Kingdom Conference of Professors and Heads of Computing which took place on 12 July 1994 in Glasgow, Scotland.  With an attendance from about 50 academic institutions, 42 AdaSAGE CD-ROMs & "AdaSAGE An Applicat

ion Development Tool" brochures  were issued.

AdaSAGE is in use/evaluation in European and Scandinavian aerospace, commerce, industry, government and academia.  Major organisations evaluating AdaSAGE cover widely varying applications including such fields as telecommunications, space systems, road/rail traffic management, broad based financial services, home shopping and cell based manufacturing.

Other areas of activity concerned with ongoing promotion of AdaSAGE (and Ada) include such things as inclusion of product details on the Ada W3 server at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology at Lausanne. I also intend that updates of the AdaSAGE User� Group Newsletter should be available on the WWW. 

The ongoing success of AdaSAGE as an 'ambassador technology' in promoting U.S. Government efforts in releasing technologies to the commercial sector thereby to exploit the 'dual use' nature of the technologies is also a major success story in internationally promoting the Ada programming language.

I trust that the above provides a more complete insight into the extent of use and interest in AdaSAGE Worldwide.

I am sorry that I did not before now to the recent postings on AdaSAGE.  Like many others who access this information rich environment, although one endeavours to frequently visit selected newsgroups and participate in SIGs' E-mail discussions, the frequency of interaction must be based on the tangible business benefits of time spent in that activity.  Thus, the majority of my visits to newsgroups and SIGs tend to be done at weekends and in the evenings or otherwise when time allows.


Best Regards

D. Gerald Forrest 



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D. Gerald Forrest
International Technology Transfer Specialist

United States Department of Energy
(Idaho National Engineering Laboratory)
P.O. Box 139
ST ALBANS
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United Kingdom

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