Re: Death by analogy Part 2 (was Re: is ada dead?)

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

"Ed Falis" <efalis@mediaone.net> wrote in message
news:3B4B7319.ECD3A4D3@mediaone.net...
> in the $100 to $600 range.  For us Ada guys, there was the additional
> problem of general lack of broader market interest, despite sinking a lot
> of money into advertizing and so on.
>
I grok the broader interest part, but in terms of "advertizing" dollars -
what exactly is "a lot"? I think Coca Cola spends "a lot" on advertizing. I
doubt that any vendors beyond Microsoft and Sun have spent "a lot" relative
to that kind of scale. The thing is, if someone actually *did* spend that
many cubic dollars on promoting Ada and getting it to be a "Household Word"
we'd all be able to kiss C/C++ goodbye.

> So, I don't know what the answer is to your dilemma (and you're not the
> only person with it).  But what ACT offers in terms of support reflects
the
> cost to provide it, and I think it also reflects the value rendered in
> return.
>
No reason to blame ACT or anyone else for charging what they have to in
order to provide a service. I think a fair complaint is that there seems to
be no "middle ground". Either you're on the Defense Contractor level of
support contract or you're left hanging out there twisting slowly, slowly in
the wind. Not much of a problem if you're talking about a highly stable &
reliable product, but if there are new features or bug fixes coming out
frequently, one would like a way to get them quickly without having the
full-boat hand-holding charges.


> You've probably used the Visual Studios, and Sun JDK's, and Borland
> products.  They're not perfect, and often the quality is well below e.g.
> GNAT or ObjectAda.  And just as often, the option for any kind of real
> support doesn't exist.  Or if it does, it's part of a "larger" deal with a
> concomitant ongoing price tag.  You can't get blood out of stone.
>
Maybe you can't get the Defense Contractor level of support for Visual
Studio, et alia, but you can subscribe to get quarterly updates, etc. That's
at least something.

> I'm sorry if I'm sounding a bit combative - it's not my intention, but
> I guess a fair part of my career has been tied to these issues.  I'm often
> not so pleased looking back.
>
We can all look back and see things in the past that maybe we consider less
than stellar achievement or huge successes. But its the process - not the
product. *We* are changed in the process. :-)

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/