A payoff from using (reusing) repository software

A payoff from using (reusing) repository software

[harbaughs]

At GTE Mountain View, Ca. the Tools group on a large Ada
project budgeted 10 weeks to create a rudimentary
pretty-printer starting from nothing. I brought in the
pretty-printer and standards checker from simtel20
and in less than 5 weeks they have accomplished the following:
1. converted adafmt2.pas to ada, corrected errors and
enhanced it's functionality. As soon as we get internal
approval we will submit it for the repository.
2. took prettyprinter, scizzored out the the syntactic
analyzer, generalized it, used it for several other tools
including a project specific standards checker.
3. other tools are planned to use pieces of the
repository tools. what the heck, there's still
5 weeks to go on the original budget.
--
My mechanical engineer neighbor in Florida
has a beutiful car made from major components
of different brand cars. It seems to work
for major components of Ada software also.
--
regards, sam harbaugh
---------------------

Re: A payoff from using (reusing) repository software

[Stavros Macrakis]

I wonder why you had to build a syntax analyzer at all.  Does your
compiler not give you access to the parsed form?

I ought to note that I consult for Intermetrics, whose Ada compiler
family does give you full access to syntax tree and semantic information
in standard form (Diana).  All their tools work off the parsed form, so
there is no need either to duplicate the parser nor to reparse the same
text.

	-s