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,f51e93dacd9c7fca X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2002-10-02 05:30:58 PST Path: archiver1.google.com!news1.google.com!newsfeed.stanford.edu!logbridge.uoregon.edu!snoopy.risq.qc.ca!newsfeed.news2me.com!newsfeed2.earthlink.net!newsfeed.earthlink.net!stamper.news.pas.earthlink.net!stamper.news.atl.earthlink.net!harp.news.atl.earthlink.net!not-for-mail From: "Marin David Condic" Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Re: status of Ada STL? Date: Wed, 2 Oct 2002 08:30:10 -0400 Organization: MindSpring Enterprises Message-ID: References: <3d0f0c40_1@news.tm.net.my> <3D95E5F7.CE1669E9@adaworks.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: d1.56.b1.a4 X-Server-Date: 2 Oct 2002 12:30:58 GMT X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2314.1300 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2314.1300 Xref: archiver1.google.com comp.lang.ada:29455 Date: 2002-10-02T12:30:58+00:00 List-Id: So perhaps an alternative to having the vendors bundle some library up with their compilers would be to have some one single library declared "The Library" and vendors, academics, industrial users, newsgroups, and other gadflies can all point to that and say "This is what everyone uses". That certainly separates it from the language standard which I think can only produce something very static and limited. But there's still a problem with somehow or other giving it some aura of officialdom. Also, there's the problem of if it isn't just sitting there when you get your Ada compiler installed, its awful rough to, say, write a textbook about Ada that presumes the student can just include XYZ and have it work. Not having it come with the compiler risks having it be just one more of many available libraries of stuff and that's not quite the same thing as what C++ and Java have right now. Still, it might be a way to *start*. Get a semi-official library going that is at first independent of the compiler or standard and perhaps later if it seems to be working well, it starts getting bundled with compilers (on customer demand?) and might one day find its way into the standard, should it be sufficiently well specified. Isn't this kind of how ASIS got built? (I don't see why it couldn't perhaps start with some existing library and be grown from there so long as the existing library was sound and met whatever requirements were established.) You're absolutely right about who is going to sponsor and fund it. It needs to be driven by *someone* with some semi-official status or its just one more library built by one more enthusiast. Assuming the vendors were at least on board to the extent that they were willing to bless some effort as "The Library" and were willing to drive the requirements somewhat, then the rest is a problem of finding some organization to be the caretaker of the project and some way of paying for it. SIGAda might be a reasonable mechanism for being the caretaker and might even find some volunteer labor for some of the work. (The problem with all-volunteer labor is, of course, you can't count on getting anything done.) Universities might be other candidates. As for funding, if it was written up properly, it might be possible to get some government research money thrown at it. I think that if there is a willingness on the part of the vendors and/or other major stakeholders to push for something, it might just happen. Without that, it will lack focus and never get done. MDC -- ====================================================================== Marin David Condic I work for: http://www.belcan.com/ My project is: http://www.jast.mil/ Send Replies To: m c o n d i c @ a c m . o r g "I'd trade it all for just a little more" -- Charles Montgomery Burns, [4F10] ====================================================================== Randy Brukardt wrote in message news:upjr96ggnr4mb2@corp.supernews.com... > > The best suggestion I've seen here is to provide a semi-official library > of code similar to Java's. This keeps the vendors out of it (beyond > making sure that the code compiles). And the user is not mislead about > the status of the code. The main question with this idea is who is going > to sponser it and fund it? That's being actively studied -- hopefully a > solution will be found. >