Re: Do we need "Mission-Critical" software? Was: What to Do?

["Larry J. Elmore" <ljelmore@home.com>]

In article <3A5B1417.6190CFC@acm.org>, "Marin David Condic"
<mcondic.nospam@acm.org> wrote:

> I agree that it is unlikely, but stranger things have happened.
> Remember that C was around for a very long time, hiding in dark
> corners of the world, before it started becoming super popular.
> Circumstances came about that got it in front of enough people to
> generate a critical mass
> & the rest is history.
> 
> Could the same thing happen for Ada? I wouldn't hold my breath, but I
> think it is possible.

It would be nice, wouldn't it? More exposure would help since it seems
to me that an increasing number of programmers are becoming more open to
alternatives to C++ and Java. IIRC, Linux Journal recently ran a
positive article about Ada in general and GNAT in particular. There
were some mistakes in it, I think, and I thought about submitting a
more detailed and accurate article to LJ. I've been bogged down with
work lately, but soon I'll have the time to actually do it, I hope. :)

I'd be ecstatic if only I could get my employer (Inet Technologies) or
at least my department to convert to Ada. We use a proprietary
"language" based on C (gcc 2.8.1) that might be better characterized as
an API made up of _extensive_ macros. The code base has been growing
rapidly and is getting rather creaky and catankerous because of all
kinds of interdependencies. We'll be making a major effort Real Soon
Now to reorganize and fix everything, but it's going to be a major
undertaking. I'm going to push the idea that as long as we're going
to have to go through this arduous process, it would be to our great long-term
benefit to bite the bullet and also migrate to Ada in the process. It's
going to be a tough sell, that's for sure, especially since I'm a
junior programmer. :-(

Larry