From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-0.3 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00, REPLYTO_WITHOUT_TO_CC autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,52a0bacbcdd2da17 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2003-08-12 09:14:04 PST Path: archiver1.google.com!news1.google.com!newsfeed.stanford.edu!newsfeed.gamma.ru!Gamma.RU!newsfeed.esat.net!2001:770:18:3:206:5bff:fef3:a19e.MISMATCH!feeder2.news.heanet.ie!not-for-mail Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada From: Colin_Paul_Gloster@ACM.org (Colin Paul Gloster) Subject: Re: Realtime/embedded project to help with employment. References: Reply-To: Colin_Paul_Gloster@ACM.org Message-ID: User-Agent: slrn/0.9.7.0 (SunOS) Organization: Dublin City University (DCU) Cache-Post-Path: ns1-ext.dcu.ie!unknown@camac.dcu.ie X-Cache: nntpcache 3.0.1 (see http://www.nntpcache.org/) Date: 12 Aug 2003 16:14:02 GMT NNTP-Posting-Date: 12 Aug 2003 16:14:02 GMT NNTP-Posting-Host: 136.206.1.1 X-Trace: 1060704842 reader.news.heanet.ie 9256 [::ffff:136.206.1.1]:41207 Xref: archiver1.google.com comp.lang.ada:41350 Date: 2003-08-12T16:14:02+00:00 List-Id: Hyman Rosen wrote in response to things Rob Leif said: "[..] > the GPL is one of the causes of ACT's extremely bi-level pricing > policy, free or very expensive. In order for Ada to be truly COTS, > she desperately needs products with PC type pricing. Really? First of all, "PC-type pricing" for compilers is now going for around US$1000 per seat. Have you looked the prices for a Microsoft development system lately? And do you think that gets you live human support for your problems? Employing people to answer questions and help with development is enormously expensive. My wife owns a software company which provides such handholding for its clients. She leases the software for over $2000 per seat *per month*. The ACT model is wonderful. Companies who really need the support and can pay the freight defray the costs for having a high-quality implementation of Ada available to everyone for free. [..] [..] There's also the fact that the wide platform availability of GNAT comes "free" as a result of being based on the existing GPLed gcc back end, and that the original development of GNAT was paid for through tax dollars. [..]" ACT received taxes to assist in the porting of GNAT for SPARC to ORK (which targets a SPARC). ORK is buggy. "[..] And note that ACT does not just use the GPL, they take special pains to make public versions available so that people can use their free version easily, even though they are under no obligation to do so. [..]" This is a nice gesture.