From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.3 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,INVALID_MSGID autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,e29c511c2b08561c X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public From: Bob Crispen Subject: Re: Is the "Ada mandate" being reconsidered? Date: 1996/06/21 Message-ID: <9606212019.AA11075@eight-ball>#1/1 X-Deja-AN: 161549073 sender: Ada programming language comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Date: 1996-06-21T00:00:00+00:00 List-Id: Joe Gwinn 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