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=-0.4 required=5.0 tests=AC_FROM_MANY_DOTS,BAYES_00 autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,6a7cfec93e22adfc X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2002-03-06 02:37:35 PST Path: archiver1.google.com!news1.google.com!newsfeed.stanford.edu!newsfeeds.belnet.be!news.belnet.be!psinet-eu-nl!psiuk-p4!uknet!psiuk-p3!uknet!psiuk-n!news.pace.co.uk!nh.pace.co.uk!not-for-mail From: "Marin David Condic" Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Re: AdaMax? (was: ada to C++ translation) Date: Tue, 5 Mar 2002 16:31:57 -0500 Organization: Posted on a server owned by Pace Micro Technology plc Message-ID: References: <3c81060d$1@giga.realtime.net> <5ee5b646.0203021621.ce5a579@posting.google.com> <3c838b53@giga.realtime.net> <4519e058.0203041210.5f878d07@posting.google.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: dhcp-200-133.miami.pace.co.uk X-Trace: nh.pace.co.uk 1015363923 29411 136.170.200.133 (5 Mar 2002 21:32:03 GMT) X-Complaints-To: newsmaster@news.cam.pace.co.uk NNTP-Posting-Date: 5 Mar 2002 21:32:03 GMT X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.50.4522.1200 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.50.4522.1200 Xref: archiver1.google.com comp.lang.ada:20852 Date: 2002-03-05T21:32:03+00:00 List-Id: "Ted Dennison" wrote in message news:4519e058.0203041210.5f878d07@posting.google.com... > > What does all of this have to do with Ada? Damn near nothing. If we > had to make an analogy into the videocassete market, VCR's (and their > formats) would be machine languages (CPUs, OS's, programming > platforms, etc.), tapes would be the executable programs, and > programming languages would be sort of analogous to the the camera > techniques used to film the original shows before they transfered to > tape. If damn near everyone else uses an inferior or inefficient one, > there's no real reason that has to affect a content developer's choice > at all. A tool vendor would certianly prefer to make tools targeted to > that larger camera technique user-base (assuming that market isn't > oversaturated). But this has nothing whatsever to do with Beta vs. > VHS. > O.K. but to stretch the analogy a little further. Look at regular, vs HDTV. A content developer might like HDTV, but if the camera equipment, etc., is too expensive (development environments) or the tools aren't available to get the HDTV picture to work on standard TV equipment (compilers targeted to the platform) or the picture is too big to fit the screen (compiled code is too large/inefficient) or the "better" standard doesn't enable you to use the features of the existing equipment (lack of libraries, etc.) then there is a strong incentive to go with the lower quality standard TV picture. While Ada has fixed a large number of these problems, its still important to look at it as a lesson. There's more to it than just the superiorness (is that a word?) of the technology in question. HDTV is wonderful, but there have to be a lot of other pieces in place for HDTV to succeed. A great picture that you can't deliver down the chain (or that you can't get there in a timely manner) is just an interesting curiosity. Like all analogies, there are weaknesses and flaws, but I think the point can be understood from it anyway. Ada has become inexpensive and efficient. Its done a good job of being available on a large number of platforms. Its starting to get there with tools, libraries, etc., but still has some distance to go in this area. We need to constantly look at the whole chain and see what Ada isn't providing to the market that other languages do. It can't be "better" just on the level of its syntax and semantics - it has to be "better" (not "just as good") at getting an end product in the hands of the end user or there isn't much incentive to switch. (IOW, VHS was "better" at getting a movie into the hands of a viewer than was Beta.) Most of us here can see any number of ways Ada is "better" in a variety of domains. We just need to keep thinking about the whole chain when trying to understand how to get it adopted more widely. MDC -- Marin David Condic Senior Software Engineer Pace Micro Technology Americas www.pacemicro.com Enabling the digital revolution e-Mail: marin.condic@pacemicro.com Web: http://www.mcondic.com/