Re: A scapegoat once again :(

[Ludovic Brenta <ludovic@ludovic-brenta.org>]

Gautier write-only wrote:
> Britt Snodgrass wrote:
>
>> Seen on DailyTech today:
>>
>>http://www.dailytech.co/F22+Upgrades+Over+Budget+and+Behind+Schedule...
>>
>> "The cause of the delay in delivery stems from the programming
>> language used called Ada. The Ada language was once a DoD standard,
>> but the use of the language has waned in the last 15 years. Analyst
>> Loren Thompson from the Lexington Institute said, "It tends to impede
>> quick upgrades to the system to which it is the base software."
>>
>> It’s really sad and disturbing to read such an incorrect and
>> uninformed statement. How could Ada "impede quick upgrades" unless
>> they really mean that the coders they've been hiring recently are
>> intimidated by compiler warnings.
>
> It is especially wrong considering upgrades: it is difficult to have
> quicker upgrades than with Ada (at least, GNAT):
> - Install the new GNAT (a few minutes)
> - *That's it* ! No need to spend a week upgrading sources or running
> upgrade wizards like with MS tools for instance.

They were not talking about upgrading the development environment.
They were talking about upgrading the embedded life-critical software
on board the aircraft.  That does not diminish the utter stupidity of
the statement.  I think there are at least two idiots at work here:
one inside the project who has heard of Ada and wants to get rid of
it, and one "expert" who doesn't know what software is and repeats
whatever the first one said.  Both should be held accountable for
their incompetence.

--
Ludovic Brenta.