From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-0.8 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,INVALID_DATE, LOTS_OF_MONEY autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,ed0e0a641b1a05b X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 1993-03-19 07:42:24 PST Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Path: sparky!uunet!world!srctran From: srctran@world.std.com (Gregory Aharonian) Subject: Re: ada software reuse In-Reply-To: wdvs@unix.brighton.ac.uk's message of 18 Mar 93 15:42:15 GMT Message-ID: Sender: srctran@world.std.com (Gregory Aharonian) Organization: The World References: <1993Mar18.154215.27544@unix.brighton.ac.uk> Date: Fri, 19 Mar 1993 15:38:44 GMT Date: 1993-03-19T15:38:44+00:00 List-Id: >Can anyone please explain how ADA supports the concept of software reuse, >including how ada supports this concept. Given that the largest amounts of source code being reused by language is in the following order (demographics for the entire planet): Cobol C/C++ Fortran Ada Pascal Lisp I argue that as long as a language has the basic features of a decent syntax, modularity, and tools/syntax for argument checking, requirements that most languages meet, then the language will support reuse. And given the success of "primitive" languages in supporting reuse, the structure of a language itself is a marginal factor in promoting/discouraging reuse. As I have long argued to myself it seems, and completely contrary to current DoD policy, the success or failure of a software reuse effort depends greatly on social and economic factors such as acquistion regulations, programmer incentives, software library construction and marketing, licensing, information distribution technology utlization (like the Internet) and other topics that make or break successful software reuse in other languages. For example, despite having the most extensive records of the location of reusable defense software in the country and measures of the flows of these programs, I cannot get any support from the DoD to perform studies of what I know as it impacts the non-technical aspects of defense software reuse. The DoD just doesn't care. On the other hand, a company in Florida got DoD funding to do a study to measure Ada reusability of source code by measuring the indenting depth of Ada modules (an extreme technical approach whose total syntactic basis makes it useless for the more important semantic aspects of reuse). Thus with regards to Ada, the language itself does little to promote or discourage reuse. Unfortunately for Ada, the government policies involving it are such that Ada reuse will never amount to much. And to illustrate how screwed up software reuse is in the Defense community, I will tell you a little story. Recently a group of engineers at a local defense contractor was looking for some data fusion software for a million dollar project they were doing for the DoD. While they had sources inside the company, I offered to visit their facilities and make a presentation of sources of sensor fusion software they could acquire and reuse. I figure I could have saved them about $40,000, since I have great sources for this kind of software. Anyways, they seemed interested, and asked their managers if they could arrange for me to make a presentation. Their managers said NO, for one reason - there was no charge number for them to charge spending a hour listening to me talk about software reuse for their project. It's bad enough that defense regulations make it almost impossible for me to sell reusable defense software to defense contractors, but to not even be able to get into the front door to make a pitch because there are NO charge numbers is lunacy. Meanwhile the DoD is funding four software reuse centers and two software reuse working groups who no one evers hear from, who don't talk to anyone but each other, and are staffed by people with no prior experience in running software reuse businesses. They are so apathetic to their jobs they haven't even contacted me to try and incorporate my extensive records of defense software into their databases. I got into Ada reuse because I thought, of all of the languages available for reuse, Ada has the most going for it, and I still believe this to be true. Unfortunately, never has a language been assoicated with so many fucked up policies and documented waste of tens of millions of dollars with regards to reuse. My company, Infotrans, Ada Libraries Limited, Karl Grebyn, and all of the others who got burnt big time trying to Ada reuse as a business know the reality all to well. A piece of advice. Never ask a group of socialists what is inherently a socioeconomic free market question. Greg Aharonian Source Translation & Optimization -- ************************************************************************** Greg Aharonian Source Translation & Optimiztion P.O. Box 404, Belmont, MA 02178