Re: Ada saved by gnat (was Re: Where's Aetech?)

[CONDIC@PSAVAX.PWFL.COM]

From: Marin David Condic, 407.796.8997, M/S 731-93
Subject: Re: Ada saved by gnat (was Re: Where's Aetech?)
Original_To:  PROFS%"SMTP@PWAGPDB"
Original_cc:  CONDIC



David Weller <dweller@STARBASE.NEOSOFT.COM> writes:
>
>the last year (hmm, I guess I just did :-).  Many of those people
>have picked up GNAT and were able to explore Ada without the
>slightest financial committment.  And, yes, they knew they were
>getting what they were paying for :-)  Also, GNAT has given me
>
    David:

    I personally think that GNAT may do a lot to help "bootstrap"
    Ada95 usage, but I think it's important to point out that it isn't
    real likely to cut into the commercial vendor's business - at
    least with respect to major software development efforts for
    critical products. It also isn't going to guarantee the long term
    success of Ada95 - so it's no panacea.

    Could you imagine persuading the Air Force to commit themselves to
    flight-certifying software or risking expensive payloads on a
    compiler that someone downloaded from the Internet and has no
    "corporate" support behind it? (Maybe in "the olden days" but not
    likely today!) Our customers *know* we need a vendor behind us as
    part of "the team" who is going to provide bug fixes, tools,
    customizations, etc.

    And even for "non-critical" applications, I would think that most
    intelligent developers would want a company behind their compiler
    who would provide them with telephone support, a commitment to
    continued growth of the product, related tools, etc. "Free" might
    be nice when you're just playing games, but when your business
    depends on long term commitments to the tools you use, "free" can
    get pretty costly! (O.K.! Not all things worth doing are worth
    doing well. I'm talking about software development that represents
    a significant investment in time, money & expected lifespan.)

    In other words - it's probably good that GNAT is out there as a
    learning tool, but I can't see it as a substitute for a good
    quality commercial product with lots of support software bundled
    around it and an "800" number to call when the software doesn't
    work as expected. Hence, it's probably not much of a threat to
    commercial vendors and if they see it that way, then they aren't
    looking at the value they should be adding to the product.

    As for cost? I still believe that if Ada95 is going to get
    anywhere, there needs to be a shrink-wrapped product at CompUSA
    with manuals, bindings, support tools, etc for popular home
    computers at somewhere between $200 and $400. (Best bet, is to get
    the base product under $200 and don't wuss out on the support!) If
    someone were to take GNAT and build such a product out of it,
    you'd stand a good chance of making it successful.

    The only sympathy I'll give to compiler vendors who charge five
    figures or more for their tools is when you start looking at
    target hardware that is extremely esoteric and have lots of
    requirements for customizations to the product. If there are only
    twelve "Gazorenthorpe Microprocessors" sold per year - but you
    absolutely have to have them because of the specialized nature of
    the product - *no* compiler is going to be cheap. (Maybe this is
    where Ada suffers from it's military roots? How many ATF's are we
    going to sell? How many "specialized" processors are in one of
    these? How many compilers does that mean we're going to buy?)

    (Oh. And before someone jumps up and says "You ought to be using
    COTS processors on this sort of stuff" I'll answer with this
    challenge: Show me a Mil packaged, rad hard, at-or-near 100%
    testable, space-proven, COTS processor - complete with ICE-boxes,
    logic analyzers, etc., that I can buy at Radio Shack for under
    $50.00 and I'll buy you dinner at the restaurant of your choice
    here in West Palm Beach.)

    Pax,
    Marin

Marin David Condic, Senior Computer Engineer    ATT:        407.796.8997
M/S 731-93                                      Technet:    796.8997
Pratt & Whitney, GESP                           Internet:   CONDICMA@PWFL.COM
P.O. Box 109600                                 Internet:   MDCONDIC@AOL.COM
West Palm Beach, FL 33410-9600
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