Re: Is the "Ada mandate" being reconsidered?

[dewar@cs.nyu.edu (Robert Dewar)]

Michael said:

"> Yes, but do you know of any major DoD projects that are be developed
> using GNAT? When you buy a FREE compiler you get what you pay for."

A number of major projects are being developed using GNAT, including DoD
projects, e.g. one component of the Aegis project is using GNAT. Also the
first deployed Ada 95 DoD project, Airfields, used GNAT.

One thing to remember about the FREE in free software is that it primarily
about freedom of distribution not about the price -- indeed there is nothing
to stop anyone, including us, from charging for GNAT, although we choose
not to as long as it is obtained by FTP. As Richard Stallman says, the
free is for free as in free speach, not free as in free beer. 

Any serious project has to make sure the tools it is using are supported.
One interesting possibility opened up by the free software model is to
maintain the softare yourself, since you have full access to the sources.
However, that does not make sense for most projects, and serious DoD
projects that I know about get support from SGI or ACT (of course I
would not necessarily know about some secret project that had decided
to do its own maintenance).

Do not assume that because software is free software it is inferior to
proprietary software for which you have to pay. The fact of the matter
is that there is good and bad free software and good and bad proprietary
software. You have to evaluate the particular product in question and
see if it meets your needs, something that is true of any software in
any context. Of course it is convenient that you can do at least a 
preliminary evaluation of free software rather easily without having
to sign contracts and pay money -- another advantage of free software.

As for validation, it turns out that even in the DoD during this
transitional period, validation is less important than making sure
the compiler you are using supports the Ada 95 features you need
(validation does not guarantee that AT ALL at the moment), and
that in general it meets your needs.

Of the two projects I mentioned above, Airfields used the Solaris version
of GNAT which is not yet validated, and the Aegis project is using the
SGI version, which has been validated (was in fact the first general
purpose Ada 95 validation, and is still the only validation of a compiler
covering all the annexes).

We expect many additional versions of GNAT, including the SOlaris version
to be validated sometime soon. The order in which we carry out validations
depends on the needs and requirements of our customers.

Robert Dewar
ACT