Re: Early availability of cheap Ada compilers (Was: Re=Fun_with_History why_wasnt_Ada83_object_oriented)

[Simon Clubley <clubley@remove_me.eisner.decus.org-Earth.UFP>]

On 2012-03-07, Jacob Sparre Andersen <sparre@nbi.dk> wrote:
> Randy Brukardt wrote:
>
>> Subset versions of Janus/Ada were introduced in 1981, and on the IBM
>> PC in 1982. There were other companies, too. All of these compilers
>> were competitively priced for the time (several hundred dollars) --
>> the dirt cheap compilers (in more ways than one) came later (including
>> versions of Janus/Ada for $99; indeed, that compiler is *still* in our
>> catelog at $129).
>
> Why was it that I couldn't find it in 1993, when I was actually looking
> for an Ada compiler?
>
> I suppose I wasn't looking in the right place.  But where was the right
> place to look back then?
>

For myself, living in the UK, one place in that timeframe was a company
called Grey Matter.

I was very aware of Janus/Ada and various other Ada compilers (no, I cannot
remember which ones) because I remember at least one of the products
stood out in the Grey Matter price lists. I was very tempted, but in the
end never actually purchased a Ada compiler from Grey Matter.

[My first actual use of Ada was with gcc (in the gcc 2.8 timeframe),
which was much later.]

I knew about Ada before that, but didn't know about any low cost compilers
until I saw the Grey Matter product lists. I remember the advertising
material been printed on coloured (maybe green) paper detailing the
product.

I cannot remember if the Janus/Ada advertising material originated from
Grey Matter or if Randy's company originally created it and it was
re-distributed by Grey Matter.

Simon.

-- 
Simon Clubley, clubley@remove_me.eisner.decus.org-Earth.UFP
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