From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.5-pre1 (2020-06-20) on ip-172-31-74-118.ec2.internal X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.9 required=3.0 tests=BAYES_00 autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.5-pre1 Date: 30 Apr 93 13:50:15 GMT From: ddciiny!jls@uunet.uu.net (Jonathan Schilling) Subject: Re: Incorporating 9X into Ada courses Message-ID: List-Id: In article srctran@world.std.com (Gregory Aharonian) writes: > > The reason that Ada compilers cost more is simply because the Ada >compiler vendors have a captive market and can charge more simply because >there is no competition for them. The Ada Mandate is a gross market >distortion that allows these inflated prices to continue. Remove the >Mandate and two things will happen: first, the Ada vendors will have to >drastically lower their prices to be competitive with the C/C++ vendors. >Second, since the vendors are used to competition within the defense >world, between competition with C/C++ vendors and loss of sales to DoD >projects now using C/C++, most of the vendors will go out of the Ada >business. > > The vendors have used every excuse in the book to explain away the >fact why their prices are so high compared to industry standards, except >for the reason that neither Ada nor their compilers are competitive. >Just look how people are spending their own money. Not to get into the general argument about whether the existence of the Ada market as a whole is due to lack of competition, it must be noted that *within* the Ada market, there is definitely competition. There are a number of different Ada vendors, and for any given host[/target], there are usually three or more Ada compiler products to choose from. Having worked for Ada compiler vendors for over eight years, I can attest that this business is *very* competitive, and that if you don't put out a competitive product, you suffer. As for prices *within* the Ada market, there are several different pricing strategies around. It is not always the lowest-cost vendors that do the best; whether this is a because Ada customers are more concerned with quality than cost, or this is a consequence of the funding and procurement practices in the Ada world, I'm not sure. -- Jonathan Schilling DDC-I, Inc. uunet!ddciiny!jls