Re: Navy Counters Ada Mandate?

[Currie Colket <colket@ajpo.sei.cmu.edu>]

 
Reference to wdence@nswc-wo.nswc.navy.mil message:
 
>     A supervisor here recently attended a high-level navy
> conference. He now claims that he heard at the conference 
> that the US Navy is going to issue a policy this spring that 
> eliminates the effect of the Ada Mandate.
 
>     He is now using this rumor to require that our work become
> standardized to ANSI-C.
 
>     Others here are now trying to assemble standards for
> contracting using ANSI-C.
 
>     Can anyone shed any light on this?
 
The rumor is neither based on current DoD policy nor on pending 
Department of Navy (DON) policy.
 
The current DoD policy was established in the 17 April 1992 ASD Letter 
signed by the Honorable Duane P. Andrews, subject: Delegations of Authority
and Clarifying Guidance on Waivers from the use of the Ada Programming 
Language. This document identifies guidelines such as:
 
	The use of Ada is presumed cost effective for all new development;
 
	The use of Ada is presumed cost effective for modification of more 
	than one-third of a functional component of DoD software;
 
	Waivers from the non-use of Ada are required. 
 
A copy of the full text of this letter can be obtained through the Ada
Information Clearing House at (703) 685-1477 or (800) ADAIC11.
 
According to Ms. Toni Stuart, from the Department of the Navy Information 
Systems Management Center (NISMC), there will soon be a DON policy letter 
based on this ASD Letter. The new policy for the Department of Navy (DON) 
will establish the use of Ada for new systems development and for major 
software upgrades of existing systems regardless of size, cost, or
functional application. The new policy will require a waiver for the non-use
of Ada. Waivers are intended to document the fact that an alternative 
approach is cost effective over the life cycle of the application. 
There are no blanket domains where a language such as ANSI-C
can be used under the new DON policy. Ada is the language for the DON and is
presumed cost effective for all new development and major system upgrades.
Ms. Stuart can be reached at (202) 433-4903 should you have any additional 
questions.
 
The technical Ada base supports this policy. Currently there are over 500
validated Ada compilers covering a wide range of host and target computers.
For a list, please contact the Ada Information Clearinghouse at 
(703) 685-1477 or (800) AdaIC11. Ada bindings are available in commercial 
products to a wide range of Open System Architecture (OSA) / Open System
Environment (OSE) interfaces. The Report, Available Ada Bindings, just
updated in November identifies those currently available. It is also 
available through the Ada Information Clearinghouse. 
 
It should be noted that should Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) Software
satisfy the DOD or DON requirements, then procurement of the COTS software
is generally more cost effective than developing the application regardless
of language used. The language used in COTS software procurements is 
"don't care" and generally not known. In order to qualify, the COTS software
must not be modified or maintained by the DON. 
 
 
For other questions, please contact the undersigned at (703) 614-0209.
 
 
Currie Colket
Navy Deputy Director, Ada Joint Program Office (AJPO)