Re: Stability for Embedded Applications?

[eachus@aries.mitre.org (Robert I. Eachus)]

     First, many compilers disappeared from the list when 1.10
validations expired due to the fact that this time all the validations
expired the same day.

     Second, the issue of validation policy was discussed at the last
Ada Board meeting.  As far as I know the AJPO has not acted on the
resulting recommendations, but it will probably result in 1.11
validations being good forever (or for at least as long as Ada 1983 is
still supported).

     Third (and possibly most important), there is a concept of
project validation, which basically says that THIS is the compiler we
are using on this project, and is the only valid compiler (and
version) until a decision is made to upgrade.  Sounds like what your
project should do (or should have done...)

     Now to the subject of price: Ada compiler pricing has gone
through several stragtegies, but seems to have settled down now.  If
you don't charge for run-time licenses (and most compiler vendors now
don't) then you may sell one or two compilers for an embedded project
where the final program will run on thousands of machines.  So the
developer of compilers for embedded systems has to recover his costs
from a small onesie-twosie market.

      Compilers for PC-ATs and compatibles (also 80286 of course) on
the other hand, have a larger market because virtually every
programmer gets his own copy.  Prices for these compilers are now
under $500.  Supply and demand at work.  How much was the in-circut
emulator you bought?  Or the symbolic debugger? The price for those
has nothing to do with the programming language you use, but for the
same marketing reasons prices are just as high.

--

					Robert I. Eachus

     When the dictators are ready to make war upon us, they will not
wait for an act of war on our part." - Franklin D. Roosevelt