Vendors/contractors ashamed of Ada?

Vendors/contractors ashamed of Ada?

[Gregory Aharonian]

   One of the main rules of running a software company in the real world is
get all of the PR you can.  Pester editors to death, get friendly writers to
write case stories involving your product, pull whatever stunts get attention,
pester editors to death, bribe their secretaries, whatever it takes, just
get your product mentioned in journals and magazines as much as possible.
You can't wait for the editors to call - they rarely do, no matter how great
your product is.  If you believe in your product, you push, push, push.

    The reason I mention this in general is that I rarely see Ada mentioned
anywhere outside the defense media community in any form. Editors I know
say they are rarely if ever contacted by the Ada vendors or the defense
community.  The reason I mention this in particular is that the latest
issue of Computerworld, front page, has a cover story on one company adopting
object oriented technology, and their struggles and gains using C++.  A
sidebar to the article discusses a DOE scientist developing a Army battle
simulation using Smalltalk.  These are not isolated stories, but typical of
the stories about object oriented programming, CASE, and every language but
Ada.  The vast bulk of the commercial world reading these journals and 
magazines won't even get a chance to dismiss Ada - they never hear about it.
Computerworld, Information Week, MidRange Systems, Computer Design, Embedded
Systems, Computer Language, Unix World, Electronic Engineering Times, CIO,
the list goes on, as does the absence of Ada and Ada success stories.  Even
the comp.software-eng area on USENET, a great place to plug your latest
CASE stuff for free, has an Ada quietness.  CASEWORLD - no Ada presence.
Downsizing and reengineering conferences and seminars - no Ada presence.

     What is it? Are the Ada vendors and the DoD ashamed of Ada?  Why are
they so passive about advocating a supposedly superior language?  For the
DoD to realize the anticipated gains that Ada provides, it will need broader
free market acceptance of Ada.  However it will require marketing expertise
beyond what the DoD and its contractors have, have experienced, or care to do
without getting more money from the government.

Greg Aharonian
Source Translation & Optimization
-- 
**************************************************************************
Greg Aharonian
Source Translation & Optimiztion
P.O. Box 404, Belmont, MA 02178

Vendors/contractors ashamed of Ada?

[pa.dec.com!datum.nyo.dec.com!nntpd.lkg.dec.com!nntpd2.cxo.dec.com!bonmot!]

Greg flames again!  Weeeee!

But, people (yeah, I'm talking to YOU), he hits-the-nail-on-the-head yet
again!

It doesn't matter what you are selling, marketing matters.  If your
company ships crap the market will do one of four things:

	1)  Accept it because the price is right (free -- just like C
	    compilers were (are?) in a unix release).

	2)  Quit buying it because it is crap (no-brainer here...).

	3)  Use it because they HAVE TO; ergo a captive market.

	4)  Use the product, because it is value for money.

There is a magazine called "Computer Language" that was to discuss the 
languages of Modula-3, Pascal, and (gasp!) Ada.  I signed-up for it right
away due to the perceived articles on Ada and I dropped my subscription
due to the lack of Ada content.

Alsys has done the best job to my knowledge to do what Greg writes.

srctran@world.std.com (Gregory Aharonian) writes:
:    One of the main rules of running a software company in the real world is
: get all of the PR you can.
<<<deleted stuff...>>>
:     The reason I mention this in general is that I rarely see Ada mentioned
: anywhere outside the defense media community in any form. Editors I know
: say they are rarely if ever contacted by the Ada vendors or the defense
: community.  The reason I mention this in particular is that the latest
: issue of Computerworld, front page, has a cover story on one company adopting
: object oriented technology, and their struggles and gains using C++.  A
: sidebar to the article discusses a DOE scientist developing a Army battle
: simulation using Smalltalk.  These are not isolated stories, but typical of
: the stories about object oriented programming, CASE, and every language but
: Ada.  The vast bulk of the commercial world reading these journals and 
: magazines won't even get a chance to dismiss Ada - they never hear about it.
: Computerworld, Information Week, MidRange Systems, Computer Design, Embedded
: Systems, Computer Language, Unix World, Electronic Engineering Times, CIO,
: the list goes on, as does the absence of Ada and Ada success stories.  Even
: the comp.software-eng area on USENET, a great place to plug your latest
: CASE stuff for free, has an Ada quietness.  CASEWORLD - no Ada presence.
: Downsizing and reengineering conferences and seminars - no Ada presence.

Here is where Greg misses the point.  See reason #3 above for why vendors
are not pushing their product harder.  Having worked on both sides of the
fence in the U.S. Govt. world (and have now escaped to the commercial world)
I think Greg has a real good point for the proponents of Ada.  Remeber the
ol'saw from Holywood, "It doesn't matter what they say about you, just as
long as they spell your name right!"  Which is ment to mean publicity never
hurts, never ever.

: 
:      What is it? Are the Ada vendors and the DoD ashamed of Ada?  Why are
: they so passive about advocating a supposedly superior language?  For the
: DoD to realize the anticipated gains that Ada provides, it will need broader
: free market acceptance of Ada.  However it will require marketing expertise
: beyond what the DoD and its contractors have, have experienced, or care to do
: without getting more money from the government.
: 

Ada is a very, very good language.

Aloha,
	Richard

Richard Wallace
Digital Equipment Corporation
301 Rockrimmon Blvd. South
CXO2-1/7A
Colorado Springs, CO 80919-2398
(719)548-2792
<wallace@cookie.enet.dec.com>

	"The opinions expressed are my own, Uncle Ken or Uncle Bob
	 may, or may not, agree with me."

Re: Vendors/contractors ashamed of Ada?

[Bob Kitzberger]

srctran@world.std.com (Gregory Aharonian) writes:


>Ada.  The vast bulk of the commercial world reading these journals and 
>magazines won't even get a chance to dismiss Ada - they never hear about it.
>Computerworld, Information Week, MidRange Systems, Computer Design, Embedded
>Systems, Computer Language, Unix World, Electronic Engineering Times, CIO,

Not to dilute your point (which is well-taken), Embedded Systems 
frequently has articles on Ada, and product announcements from Ada vendors.
The magazine has decided C/C++ bias, but that may be just the magazine's
efforts to mirror their readership's interests.

	.Bob.

----------------
Bob Kitzberger          VisiCom Laboratories, Inc.
rlk@visicom.com         10052 Mesa Ridge Court, San Diego CA 92121 USA
                        +1 619 457 2111    FAX +1 619 457 0888