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From: CONTR47@NOSC-TECR.ARPA
Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada
Subject: Adathink, 5 cents worth; please excuse poor typing.
Message-ID: <8708131742.AA16796@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU>
Date: Thu, 13-Aug-87 13:16:13 EDT
Article-I.D.: ucbvax.8708131742.AA16796
Posted: Thu Aug 13 13:16:13 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 15-Aug-87 09:28:10 EDT
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List-Id: <comp.lang.ada>

there is more to the universe than just these.  Why do people believe that
translation to a compiled language, or a language such as Ada is essential
for a 'delivered' system?  I am honestly interested in other people's views
and experiences, even though my expectations lead me to believe that such
translation is far less important than the creation of a solution to a complex
problem.  Please put your nickels on the table, I think we can all benefit.
** My Nickels' Worth **
1
* Why I want delivered code compiled in Ada *
1. The older I get the more I value Logistics Support. I buy a
car based on where I can get parts and whether  the tools
in my toolbox can be used to repair it. Thus I have never owned
an electronic fuel injected engine .
I  traded in our office copier which
sat 14 days unfixed waiting for a part from Xerox for a Harris
brand whose corp. headquarters and parts stock is about a
mile away. A pleasant byproduct is that it also makes nice copies.
Get to the point, Sam. Well I want delivered software in a form
that can be economically maintained. That means that tools
and trained maintenance people are readily available. A clever
software design expressed in non-Ada is not as interesting as
an Ada solution because every day the available tools and the number of
 trained people is growing. Keep in mind that for a constant
amount of development effort the maintenance problem increases at least
linearly with time.
2. My second big reason for wanting Ada code is  trustworthiness.
I do not trust software packages. At least with Ada I have some
chance that I can read it and spot "time-bombs" etc. If I have
source code to the Ada compiler and runtime environment at least I have a chance
to spot malicious or accidental code which will fail at a
critical moment or embed malicious code in my program.
 please deposit 5 cents for another 2 reasons.
regards, sam harbaugh
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