Re: Is the "Ada mandate" being reconsidered?

[Bob Crispen <revbob@EIGHT-BALL.HV.BOEING.COM>]

Joe Gwinn <gwinn@RES.RAY.COM> sez:

>For large-scale use, only a few vendors survive, and consolidations will
>likely continue.  The Ada market is clearly shrinking.  I submit the only
>metric that counts is aggregate revenue to the Ada compiler and tool
>vendors, as the rate of further development of Ada depends on the size of
>their food supply.  I don't have the revenue figures, but I bet someone on
>this newsgroup does, and ask that the figures from 1983 to present be
>posted.

I believe you're suggesting that we measure precisely the wrong thing.
The existence of gnat (and the phenomenally good performance of gnat
at this point in its history) has changed the marketplace.

Today compiler vendors don't have to keep a huge staff of compiler
writers on the payroll.  That means that they can focus almost all their
manpower on product differentiation (e.g., GUI builders, bindings,
support for niche platforms) and on product support.

Thus, we could see fewer dollars changing hands, but still have a very
healthy Ada environment.

Gnat has also spawned a small horde of hobbyists who'll never pay a
cent for their gnat compilers, but who may one day become a truly
significant force for Ada.  Looking at the bucks ignores every single
one of these people.

Gross revenues, like lines of source code, are easy to measure.  But
that doesn't mean they're *worth* measuring.

Bob.Crispen@boeing.com
Speaking for myself, not my company