Re: Govern.Comp.News editorial says "Drop Ada Mandate"

[fsi-ssd!mikeb@uunet.uu.net (Mike Bates)]

Bob Munck (munck@Stars.Reston.Paramax.Com) said:

>It is my opinion that this cause is the short-sightedness that
>is increasingly built into American commercial management.  Ada
>and CASE are not used because of a (real or perceived) upfront
>cost that is not balanced against the long-term benefits.  In

At my old job, I used CASE tools on a DOD/Ada/2167A software
subcontract.  The company paid for a week of training by the vendor
(Cadre).  Although the training was helpful for understanding the
methods behind the tools, I found that Teamwork did not fit very well
into the process of 2167A development and Ada design.  In particular,
Teamwork provided no assistance in reusing the data developed in
requirements analysis in the detailed design phase.  We ended up using
DEC's Language-Sensitive Editor and Source Code Analyzer for detailed
design and report generation.  The Ada compiler turned out to be a far
better check on design consistency and completeness than Teamwork's
Ada diagramming tool, and the Source Code Analyzer' report generator
was fully customizable.  Text seemed to be a more natural means than
diagrams to express the state of our design.

Were I to have the opportunity to specify a software environment on
another 2167A program, I'd encourage management to skip on the
CASE tools and spend money on a good document publishing package and a
language-sensitive editor.  When CASE vendors demonstrate that they
understand the requirements of Ada/2167A development, I'll be happy to
take another look.  There is a place for automation, but companies
have good reason to be skeptical of CASE at its current level of
(im)maturity.  

(I should mention that we didn't get to make full use of IDE's
Software through Pictures on the earlier project.  Their environment
seemed to allow for much more tailoring, the user interface was, in my
opinion, easier to use than Teamwork's, and the training course was a
good summary of both concepts and mechanics.)

>(BTW, I personally put much of the blame for industry's lousy
>long-term management on Ronald Reagan and the Harvard Business
>School.  Some may argue with that, but please not in Info-Ada

I personally put much of the blame for the midwestern floods, Teapot
Dome, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the fall of
Constantinople in 1453, and eruption of Vesuvius on Ronald Reagan.
Why not?  Everything else seems to be his fault....

>School.  Some may argue with that, but please not in Info-Ada
>or c.l.a).

If you don't want people arguing politics in c.l.a, don't go making
irrelevant political statements.  This group is political enough as it
is.  


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Mike Bates               FlightSafety International, Simulation Systems Div.
Principal Engineer       2700 North Hemlock Circle
Computer Systems Group   Broken Arrow, Oklahoma 74012
mikeb@ssd.fsi.com        918-251-0500 ext. 581
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Mike Bates               FlightSafety International, Simulation Systems Div.
Principal Engineer       2700 North Hemlock Circle
Computer Systems Group   Broken Arrow, Oklahoma 74012
mikeb@ssd.fsi.com        918-251-0500 ext. 581