Re: Increased Interest In Ada?

["Marin David Condic" <marin.condic.auntie.spam@pacemicro.com>]

"Cesar Rabak" <csrabak@uol.com.br> wrote in message
news:3A99A4B3.694445DD@uol.com.br...
> Marin David Condic wrote:
> >
> > I've seen plenty of development kits wherein some company will sell you
a
> > developmental version of their SBC, the cross compiler, (related tools),
cable to
> > your PC & documentation for in the neighborhood of $500. (Of course,
this is with
> > C as the programming language.) That ought to be within the budget of
the serious
> > student if it was used for more than one class.
>
> Besides being within the budget it must in the so called "mind share".
> $500 may do a descent upgrade in the PC box (out monitor)!
>
Well, if you think about it, this may not be an issue at all. Consider the
possibility that the school's computer lab has a handful of the development
boards & the base compiler is a GNAT variant. A student with a PC could hack
the code at home on his PC & make sure it compiles - perhaps even testing
parts of it without the SBC, then take it to the lab for full-up testing. No
big expenditure there except for the need to have a PC.


> Some time ago I taught in a technical school and they used some Rigel
> boards (www.rigelcorp.com). They had some very affordable boards which
> would be within budget even of hobbyists (IIRC < US$100).
>
> In this price range, I'm affraid we'll get stuck to the present
> situation! Only people who 'fall in love with Ada' will purchase for
> their own...
>
To some extent, the "falling in love with Ada" may not be important. *IF*
there was a really spiffy kit out there that pretty much provided an
embedded programming class in a bag, profs would be *REALLY TEMPTED* to use
whatever was available, even if they weren't thrilled with the language or
SBC architecture. Mostly, this is because it eliminates so much work for
them.


>
> > It would at least be within the
> > budget of the school's computer lab to have 3 or 4 available for
student's to do
> > their lab work on. A company selling the kit might give away several
sets of their
> > documentation or make them available at an inexpensive price, so I don't
see much
> > standing in the way of students getting the material they need.
>
> Yes, for schools' labs this is a feasible range.
> Also I think you're quite right one (or more, let's try to be optimistic
> ;-) textbooks will also make a difference.
>
Yup. You'd need a good textbook with plenty of examples & homework problems
based on the SBC you chose. I don't think that is impossible, but it
certainly is non-trivial.


> >
> > The real problem is having a similar environment with an Ada compiler.
No
> > technical reason why it couldn't exist at a similar price - just
apparently not an
> > economic powerhouse or someone would have likely done it by now.
> >
>
> Yes I feel this is turning to be the 'chicken and egg' problem. As the
> perceived use of Ada is diminishing, the perceived opportunity for the
> teaching material has the same trend. Also be in the corporate or
> embedded systems realms, less and less Ada is being tought as a
> "mainstream" language. So right now nor the powerhouse, it seems to be
> seen as a flashlight battery!
>
Well, as I observed above - even if Ada is not perceived as popular, simply
having the kit available would start creating the demand. Profs have way too
many other things to do with their time and don't necessarily want to design
an intro-level embedded programming course. Or maybe they'd like to have
one, but there is a perceived lack of materials. Being the guys who had an
off-the-shelf, shrink-wrapped course would be a good position to be in.
They'd want it no matter what the details are just because it lets them
provide an educational experience at minimal cost & time.


>
> > (My favorite Alan Greenspan joke: Greenspan is walking down the street
with his
> > wife. His wife sees a $20 bill on the ground and points it out to Alan.
He
> > replies: "You must be mistaken dear. If there were a $20 bill on the
ground,
> > someone would have picked it up by now!")
>
> Neat!

I hear that Bill Gates' hourly earnings are so high that if he dropped a $20
bill on the ground it would cost him more to bend over and pick it up than
it is worth. :-)

MDC
--
Marin David Condic
Senior Software Engineer
Pace Micro Technology Americas    www.pacemicro.com
Enabling the digital revolution
e-Mail:    marin.condic@pacemicro.com
Web:      http://www.mcondic.com/