Re: why? US Army Ada software converted to C++?

[Jim44. <Jim44._member@newsguy.com>]

In article <061020011935502631%demery@cox.rr.com>, David says...
 
>
>One of the most common reasons I hear for contractors moving from Ada is
>that they can't find Ada programmers.  

They are probably not trying hard enough. 

But this notion of asking for an 'X' programmer, is really funny. It is 
like a taxi company asking for drivers who know how to drive a buick only. 
As if someone who has been driving a cadilac or any other car could 
not learn how to drive a buick. 

So, those C++ programmers they are asking to hire (to teach Ada how to
convert the code to C++ :), could not themselves learn to program in Ada?
 
>My own hypothesis is that they're
>not willing to pay enough. 

Actually Ada pays the least of all the programming languages I know about. 
I look at job wanted ads for programmers, and Ada rates and salaries are
always the lowest (never understood wht that is).  So, in a away, asking 
for a C++ programmers will actually cost more in terms of salaries (C++ 
will not accept the low salaries of Ada programmers), and it also cost 
more in terms of software defects. 

Is anyone in the defense department awake anymore? How could such a 
waste of tax payers money go on and no one does anything about it?