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: 18 May 93 20:16:55 GMT From: eachus@mitre-bedford.arpa (Robert I. Eachus) Subject: Re: Study shows Ada tools ten times more costly Message-ID: List-Id: In article srctran@world.std.com (Gregory Aharonian) does it again: First he quotes T. Capers Jones on the cost of tools: "The cost of software engineering tools ranges from less" than $1 per function point, to more than $20 per function point. Developers using PC, Unix and Apple Macintosh platforms have the largest selection of tools priced at less than $1 per function point. Manufacturers and military software developers often use tools priced at more than $10 per function point. then Greg assumes a lot: This comment to some extent supports the contention that the Ada Mandate, by sheltering the Ada tools companies from competition, is distorting the marketplace and making use of Ada more expensive than other languages. (I assume in his study that for the most part, military software developers only are buying Ada tools). Having shopped for, and helped to set prices for, development tools, the most important factor in price is the size of the potential market. (Second most important is the number of other vendors trying to get a slice of that market.) Now the first two markets mentioned by Jones are by far the largest development tool markets around. In terms of development tools the military market is one of the smallest. I wonder if there is any connection between that and cost per function point... -- Robert I. Eachus with Standard_Disclaimer; use Standard_Disclaimer; function Message (Text: in Clever_Ideas) return Better_Ideas is...