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: 11 Feb 93 15:23:57 GMT From: agate!spool.mu.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!eff!world! srctran@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU (Gregory Aharonian) Subject: Re: Public Release of AdaSAGE (Re: Why is the DOE selling AdaSage?) Message-ID: List-Id: With regards to the public release of Adasage: > Funny you should mention it. At TriAda'92 there was a public >forum to discuss where to go with AdaSAGE. The current intent is to >set up a consortium to manage future versions, have the Idaho National >Energy Laboratory (part of the DoE) actually do the configuration >management, and distribute AdaSAGE through several channels including >the Free Software Foundation. There will be charges for physical >distribution, but use and electronic distribution is free. > > If you have comments on this plan send them before March 1st to >adasage@ajpo.sei.cmu.edu or Mr. Alden C. Wynn (FAX: 208-526-1405). >(Posting the snail mail address seems unnecessary...) For more details >on the plan look in the adasage directory on the ajpo machine. I know it sickens you guys to consider the use of capitalism in any form, but this is another boneheaded idea when it comes to reuse. It is bad enough that we have have two DoD reuse centers (DSRO and ASSET); know you want to start a third (and fourth...). If you care at all about learning from free markets (I think you guys have been spending other people's money for too damn long), you would learn that a growing phenomena in the business world is that of "superstores" for commodities such as food, home entertainment, and surprise, surprise, computers. The attraction about superstores is that it provides one-stop shopping at reasonable (tho not necessarily the best) pricing and support. For example, I make frequent use (when I spend my own money) of a local CompUSA computer superstore. They have six of everything for both hardware and software, so I can make all my purchases and comparision shop at the same time, asking questions when I get stuck (like how to hook up a modem to Windows for Workgroups). All of these benefits could be had for DoD software reuse. BUT NO!!!! The DoD has to set up a growing number of reuse centers that duplicate each other (wasting tax dollars) and make it inconvenient for people looking for reusable software by having to deal with multiple centers. Not that the DoD should be in the BUSINESS of reuse centers, but if you are going to do it, do it right. Thus the idea of using INEL to support Adasage is a further waste of tax dollars and more confirmation that discussions at Tri-Ada, when it comes to non-technical issues of Ada, are nothing more than a bunch of people looking for their next government handout. I hate to think of the money waste in time for having a public forum at Tri-Ada about Adasage, when a five minute discussion on comp.lang.ada, like this one, is about as useful. One more thing about Adasage. While I have never looked at it, the following comments I received by email attest to the fact that Adasage is not good enough to deserve any special attention. If you are going to do something stupid, at least do it with something very good. Feel free to pass these comments onto Mr. Wynn, though if he is asking this question, he is part of the problem instead of part of the solution. Gregory Aharonian Source Translation & Optimization >We got a copy of it where I used to work. IMHO it's got to be the most >non-portable bunch of Ada code ever written. It only works on DOS and >can only be compiled with the Alsys compiler because it makes extensive >use of vendor dependent interface pragmas. Before it would be of any use >to someone else it would have to be extensively modified. If it ever >made it onto the net, it would give Ada critics a nuclear weapon. >I don't know. I think the technology content in Adasage is above >average, at least if you compare it to things like STARS... -- ************************************************************************** Greg Aharonian Source Translation & Optimiztion P.O. Box 404, Belmont, MA 02178