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, LOTS_OF_MONEY autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,a1ce307c10055549 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2002-12-17 07:05:12 PST Path: archiver1.google.com!news1.google.com!newsfeed.stanford.edu!logbridge.uoregon.edu!arclight.uoregon.edu!wn14feed!wn12feed!worldnet.att.net!207.217.77.102!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: IBM Acquires Rational Ada Date: Tue, 17 Dec 2002 10:04:37 -0500 Organization: MindSpring Enterprises Message-ID: References: <3DF1615C.7AAAC86E@adaworks.com> <3DF1B042.6603DDDE@easystreet.com> <3DF2A483.EC512CDF@adaworks.com> <8db3d6c8.0212091445.12594821@posting.google.com> <3DF628C4.7090607@cogeco.ca> <3DF8D8BF.9020606@cogeco.ca> <3DF978DE.B4C2A2C1@adaworks.com> <1ZlK9.2246$c6.2601@bos-service2.ext.raytheon.com> <0YkL9.2262$c6.2398@bos-service2.ext.raytheon.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: d1.56.b5.ee X-Server-Date: 17 Dec 2002 15:05:04 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:31957 Date: 2002-12-17T15:05:04+00:00 List-Id: Wes Groleau wrote in message news:0YkL9.2262$c6.2398@bos-service2.ext.raytheon.com... > > Seemed like it to me. But contact Lockheed-Martin, Boxo 4840, Syracuse, NY > for the details. They do not seem to be agressively marketing it. > I did not work directly on RTDB and I left GE/Martin/Lockheed before > the successor, FIRM, came along. But I liked what I read about both. > One thing I _did_ work on there was, in the opinion of several of us, > a very useful testing tool. We tried to get the company to market it, > and we were told "We are not a tools business." > That's a common problem with the larger contractors out there. They develop something for internal use because they couldn't make do with what was commercially available, but they are not in the position to market what they have built. They'd almost be better off spinning off a software company to which they dump the things they build for further development. Getting a commercial base for it means they don't have to be the sole supporters of all future development. The model still has problems - you don't get guarantees that the development will go exactly the way you'd like and your competitors suddenly gain access to the tools that were maybe instrumental in helping you get the business you really wanted. But life is full of tradeoffs. However, that does bring up an interesting possibility in the way of finding funding for various Ada enhancement projects. There are a number of large institutional users of Ada who might be willing to toss some money at an "Ada Productivity Consortium" - the goal of which would be to build Ada related tools and libraries that would then be made generally available. Glomming onto what might already be there and then enhancing it as a joint effort might be a way for them to get what they want/need and have it incorporated in with compilers & development kits. A few million bucks from the likes of LockMart, Boeing, GE, Pratt, et alia, is a spit in the bucket to them as long as they thought they would get something they could use out of it. Hmmmm...... 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] ======================================================================