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=0.8 required=3.0 tests=BAYES_50 autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.5-pre1 Date: 14 Apr 93 05:22:23 GMT From: world!srctran@uunet.uu.net (Gregory Aharonian) Subject: Bronx cheer for Telesoft/Alsys ad in O.S.T. Message-ID: List-Id: A recent advertisment is a good illustration of the hypocrisy surrounding Ada and its promotion outside the Mandated world. In the April 12, 1993 issue of Open Systems Today, a big Unix newspaper, page 62, there is a full page ad from Telesoft/Alsys. Measuring 11 inches by 16 inches, it is a very effective ad for their TeleUSE GUI building tool. Says all the right words, has a nice layout, and offers a free brochure on GUI management as an enticement to get people to call. Yet what language does Telesoft/Alsys promote? C++. "Higher quality C code is generated" and "If your application is written in C++ (or another language), then use TeleUSE....". No credit for implications that other languages are usable with this system - Ada needs explicit references to build and maintain name recognition. Given that there is plenty of room on the page to add a few more words to the text without detracting from the ad's appeal, adding the three letters "A" "d" and "a" costs them nothing financially, and helps promote Ada to the non-Mandated world, that is, unless Telesoft/Alsys is embarrassed to be associated with Ada outside the Mandated world. Is it that unpleasant to say "Higher quality C and Ada code is generated faster". Anything to keep Ada in the minds of people in the non-Mandated world. Yet nothing. Why? The initial counter-argument that few Ada types read Open Systems Today so that mentioning Ada offers little potential return, while acceptable for most other companies, is not acceptable for Telesoft/Alsys, whose existence and growth was supported by the Ada work they did in the Mandated world. There should be some ethical responsibility to foster Ada at its expense outside the Mandated world. The second counter-argument that their product maybe doesn't generate Ada code is more of an indictment of their hypocritical behavior with regards to Ada. A leading Ada compiler company whose software tools don't generate Ada. What message does that give to people in the non-Mandated world making proogramming languages decisions? And if it does generate Ada, and they don't mention it, what message does that send? Thus Telesoft/Alsys earns a Bronx cheer for its non-mentioning Ada ad in Open Systems Today. When even the Ada compiler companies show little to no interest in promoting Ada outside the mandated world, then you know the language is in big trouble. You would think the DoD would demand better behavior from its contractors to help buttress the socioeconomics underlying the Ada mandate. The Pentagon doesn't want to support the language outside the Mandated world, the contractors don't support the language outside the Mandated world, and the compiler vendors spending more money promoting other langauges. Who's left to promote Ada - me and Ted? Greg Aharonian Source Translation & Optimization -- ************************************************************************** Greg Aharonian Source Translation & Optimiztion P.O. Box 404, Belmont, MA 02178