Ada 95 used in future Microsoft O/S???

Ada 95 used in future Microsoft O/S???

[Chris Fish]

I am trying to find the source of a rumor that Microsoft will be using Ada 95
in future versions of Windows.  Apparently Ada has been chosen to be used to 
combat the Y2K problem and to decrease the number of bugs.

Has anyone heard or read anything on this?

-Chris

Re: Ada 95 used in future Microsoft O/S???

[Robert Dewar]

Chris Fish said

<<I am trying to find the source of a rumor that Microsoft will be using Ada 95
in future versions of Windows.  Apparently Ada has been chosen to be used to
combat the Y2K problem and to decrease the number of bugs.
>>


Hmmm! Must be the product of an experiment someone is doing on how
ludicrous you can make a rumour, and still have people take it seriously.

Of course the answer is that there is no limit :-)

Re: Ada 95 used in future Microsoft O/S???

[Marin David Condic, 561.796.8997, M/S 731-96]

Chris Fish <cseic@SW-ENG.FALLS-CHURCH.VA.US> writes:
>I am trying to find the source of a rumor that Microsoft will be using Ada 95
>in future versions of Windows.  Apparently Ada has been chosen to be used to
>combat the Y2K problem and to decrease the number of bugs.
>
>Has anyone heard or read anything on this?
>
    I'd be *real* suprised (pleasantly suprised?) to find out that
    someone would throw out a huge, tested, mature body of code in
    order to gain on some reliability problems. Even if an Ada95
    implementation of WinNT/Win95 had fewer bugs on initial release,
    you've still got to catch up with the maturity curve.

    Now if they were going to do some sort of major rewrite from the
    ground up of a significant chunk of the OS for some other
    perceived improvements, this would make sense. (Although how it is
    that Ada95 cures the Y2K problem, I don't know. Sure, anything
    using Ada time doesn't have a problem, but wherever applications
    have stored dates as "970731" and similar, Ada isn't going to save
    them. Just curious: Did WinNT not account for the Y2K problem in
    implementing system time? It would seem to be pretty foolish not
    to have dealt with it given the lateness in the century of its
    initial release.)

    MDC

Marin David Condic, Senior Computer Engineer     ATT:        561.796.8997
Pratt & Whitney GESP, M/S 731-96, P.O.B. 109600  Fax:        561.796.4669
West Palm Beach, FL, 33410-9600                  Internet:   CONDICMA@PWFL.COM
===============================================================================
    "They can't get you for what you didn't say."
        --  Calvin Coolidge
===============================================================================

Re: Ada 95 used in future Microsoft O/S???

[W. Wesley Groleau x4923]

>     I'd be *real* suprised (pleasantly suprised?) to find out that
>     someone would throw out a huge, tested, mature body of code in
>     order to gain on some reliability problems. Even if an Ada95

Mature?  Microsoft?

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Re: Ada 95 used in future Microsoft O/S???

[John Norcross {83602}]

dewar@merv.cs.nyu.edu (Robert Dewar) writes:

>Chris Fish said

><<I am trying to find the source of a rumor that Microsoft will be using Ada 95
>in future versions of Windows.  Apparently Ada has been chosen to be used to
>combat the Y2K problem and to decrease the number of bugs.
>>>


>Hmmm! Must be the product of an experiment someone is doing on how
>ludicrous you can make a rumour, and still have people take it seriously.

>Of course the answer is that there is no limit :-)

The day Microsoft announces that they are going with Ada 95 and are adopting
a formal software development methodology is the day you'll see pigs fly...

Everyone knows that Microsoft only employs underpaid hackers which it locks 
in small rooms and feeds pizza and jolt cola to.   As far as software 
development goes - I think they still rely heavily on the "Big-Bang" 
integration approach along with a healthy dose of build'n'fix.

Rumors are often wrong.  Chalk this one up as fantasy based trolling...

--John Norcross
jcn(an_at-sign)swl<dot>msd{DOT}ray[DoT]com  (Anti-Spam-Sig)

Re: Ada 95 used in future Microsoft O/S???

[Thomas G. McWilliams]

Chris Fish (cseic@sw-eng.falls-church.va.us) wrote:
: I am trying to find the source of a rumor that Microsoft will be using
: Ada 95 in future versions of Windows. Apparently Ada has been chosen
: to be used to combat the Y2K problem and to decrease the number of
: bugs.

Yes, MS is planning to use Visual Ada95++  :)

Re: Ada 95 used in future Microsoft O/S???

[Marin David Condic, 561.796.8997, M/S 731-96]

"W. Wesley Groleau x4923" <wwgrol@PSESERV3.FW.HAC.COM> writes:
>>     I'd be *real* suprised (pleasantly suprised?) to find out that
>>     someone would throw out a huge, tested, mature body of code in
>>     order to gain on some reliability problems. Even if an Ada95
>
>Mature?  Microsoft?
>
    Well, you've got me there. :-)

    My understanding of the Microsoft development process is that they
    basically throw out the code for a product and rewrite it from the
    ground up on a periodic basis. The theory being that maintenance
    eventually moves the software towards entropy and it's more cost
    effective to rewrite it and get the advantages of the latest
    technology and a whole new set of more interesting bugs. (A story
    I heard - I don't know how true it is.)

    This would seem to be an unwise approach to OS software
    (especially kernel software) since you've got to be real certain
    of the correctness of that part of your system. Rewriting that
    code periodically might be a good idea - but the period should be
    pretty long!

    It sounds like an interesting theory. It would certainly be an
    opportunity for Ada to break into a new market, but I doubt there
    is any serious consideration of such a changeover. Although if we
    keep circulating the rumor, maybe the powers-that-be at Micro$oft
    will believe it's true and start acting accordingly...;-)

    MDC
Marin David Condic, Senior Computer Engineer     ATT:        561.796.8997
Pratt & Whitney GESP, M/S 731-96, P.O.B. 109600  Fax:        561.796.4669
West Palm Beach, FL, 33410-9600                  Internet:   CONDICMA@PWFL.COM
===============================================================================
    "They can't get you for what you didn't say."
        --  Calvin Coolidge
===============================================================================

Re: Ada 95 used in future Microsoft O/S???

[RC]

In article <97073114002832@psavax.pwfl.com>, "Marin David Condic,
561.796.8997, M/S 731-96" <condicma@PWFL.COM> writes
>Chris Fish <cseic@SW-ENG.FALLS-CHURCH.VA.US> writes:
>>I am trying to find the source of a rumor that Microsoft will be using Ada 95
>>in future versions of Windows.  Apparently Ada has been chosen to be used to
>>combat the Y2K problem and to decrease the number of bugs.

Microsoft will simply release Win 01 (Ver: 2.00.01.03 ?) in the year
2002+ starting everything off again at Year 01 and deny that there was
ever a problem.

RC

Re: Ada 95 used in future Microsoft O/S???

[Robert Dewar]

RC said

<<Microsoft will simply release Win 01 (Ver: 2.00.01.03 ?) in the year
2002+ starting everything off again at Year 01 and deny that there was
ever a problem.>>

Actually it works better to go back 28 years, so perhaps it will be
Windows-72. The only trouble is that this idea, going back 28 years,
has already been patented, and no doubt the heroic inventor of this

non-obvious idea will want $billions for them to use the invention :-)