Re: Bye-bye Ada ?

["Marin David Condic" <mcondic.auntie.spam@acm.org>]

Richard Riehle <richard@adaworks.com> wrote in message
news:3E3EA64A.8B60939C@adaworks.com...
>
> This is a sensible approach.   There is very little money in developing
yet
> more tools for creating software.  And that money is being drained away
> by the open-source movement.
>
You don't see truckloads of money pouring into companies selling compilers,
GUI builders, IDEs, CM tools or other related design/implementation tools
for software. Yes, there are companies, but realistically, there is a *lot*
more software sold for things like accounting, word processing or
game-playing. Companies like Microsoft practically give away their
development tools in order to get people to write software for their OS and
other products. There just isn't enough money in tools to attract me to
wanting to go build some with the hope of making a profit. I probably
wouldn't do any better than the tools that are already out there and - as
you observe - there's too many freebie tools available to make it attractive
to try to earn a living selling some.


>
> This is called  a "vertical marketing" approach.  Develop expertise in a
> particular
> industry, learn its demands, its needs, and its way of doing business.
Then,
> build
> a product that is easier to use, more reliable, and more closely mapped to
the
> way that industry does business.   Keep the product current as the
technology
> advances.   Keep the code portable for variations in operating system
> availability.
> Robert Lief was on the right track with his medical equipment in Ada
approach.
> I'm not sure whether he ever got very far with it.
>
Sure. You get a few guys together that want to address some specific market
and you can get smart enough about it to have something superior to what is
available "Off The Shelf". There's lots of accounting software - but is it
tailored to, say, barber shops? You just need a potential market out there
and a little research into what they want/need and what would help make them
more efficient and then you've really got something. You might make the
product "Open Source" in some sense of the word in order to attract
business, but the ultimate goal needs to be to make a profit - thus
demonstrating that Ada can do the job better.


>
> Ada, although not hosted on the I-8051, could be used to serve a similar
> market.  A lot of lab equipment needs larger processors now.    There are
> robotic assemby lines that need to run on larger processors.  When one
looks
> around carefully, it seems there is end to the opportunity for creating
new
> software to upgrade what is already in place, and to sieze the market with
> reliable software in embedded industrial applications.
>
Someone might specialize in making PC-based lab equipment that is programmed
in Ada. Plug a card into an off the shelf PC and install the software and
there you go. You could give the software away on the Internet in order to
sell the plug-in cards. (Wish I could find something like this for a 1553
Bus Monitor at something approaching a rational price.)

Ideas abound, but there needs to be a willingness to get involved in
executing one to completion. Ada would be promoted only in so far as people
believe it will help them build the products they sell better than other
languages.


> The problem is that too many people with Ada expertise are not of an
> entrepreneurial bent.   Long years in doing software by contract has
> stunted their ability to do anything except on-spec.   The large users
> of Ada such as Lockheed, CSC, Raytheon, etc., simply don't have
> the kind of management that understands free-market risk-taking.  I
> recall a conversation with one high-ranking official of one of the
> large DoD software developers.  He asked what kind of commercial
> opportunities I saw for Ada.   I listed several.  His reply astonished
> me.  "But who will fund it?"    My answer, stunned him.  "No one.
> You need to fund it yourself once you determine there is a market."
>

Well, you've either got to go find some venture capitalist who can dump a
few million in your lap in order to get the development going, or you've got
to do some kind of "Garage Operation". Either way, you've got to have a
well-formulated idea, some market research and a business plan. It takes a
desire to see it come about and a willingness to commit to doing it - and
you're right about the people in the defense industry having a tendancy to
lack the mindset needed to make it happen. Yes, there are exceptions, but
too often we who program in Ada tend to have come along in a world where we
think about "Cool Technology" instead of making a profit. And we're used to
someone else handling all the responsibilities of finding a way to pay the
salaries.

Its not unique to DoD types. Most folks don't have the entrepeneurial
spirit. Its not a crime. It just means they aren't likely to head in the
direction that will lead them to building a successful business. The trick
is to find a few who *do* have the right attitude and are willing to persue
an idea through to completion.

MDC
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Marin David Condic
I work for: http://www.belcan.com/
My project is: http://www.jast.mil/

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    "I'd trade it all for just a little more"
        --  Charles Montgomery Burns, [4F10]
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