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=-1.9 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00 autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,27539c823b51b306 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2001-08-26 18:49:13 PST Path: archiver1.google.com!newsfeed.google.com!newsfeed.stanford.edu!paloalto-snf1.gtei.net!news.gtei.net!enews.sgi.com!newshub2.rdc1.sfba.home.com!news.home.com!news1.rdc1.sfba.home.com.POSTED!not-for-mail From: tmoran@acm.org Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Re: Ada vendors and the art of selling used cars References: <3B82AC17.8BF90918@easystreet.com> X-Newsreader: Tom's custom newsreader Message-ID: Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2001 01:49:13 GMT NNTP-Posting-Host: 24.7.82.199 X-Complaints-To: abuse@home.net X-Trace: news1.rdc1.sfba.home.com 998876953 24.7.82.199 (Sun, 26 Aug 2001 18:49:13 PDT) NNTP-Posting-Date: Sun, 26 Aug 2001 18:49:13 PDT Organization: Excite@Home - The Leader in Broadband http://home.com/faster Xref: archiver1.google.com comp.lang.ada:12441 Date: 2001-08-27T01:49:13+00:00 List-Id: >Maybe it takes high-volume to get the product to be reliable enough >regardless of all the variations in conditions of use that prevail >(ie different configurations of the customers' hardware and software) >so that sales without support is relatively likely to give the customer >good satisfaction. And maybe the Ada market is too small to support >that kind of product. It's not just reliability. CLAW, for instance, captures a major amount of Windows. Yes, it's simplified by using Ada constructs, but even there, not everyone is up to speed on all the Ada 95 techniques used by CLAW, so that requires explanation. Then think of the number and thickness of "Windows Programming" books. That suggests a massive level of documentation. Then consider the FAQs and Q&A in various forums on programming Windows. That translates into customer support. There are many dark and dirty corners lurking in Windows, many, but not all, of which CLAW knows about and handles. True, simple things can be done with simple code and the GUI builder, but it won't be long till a CLAW user wants something off the well-beaten path, and he may need help to do it. If there's a very large base of expertise, customers can help each other. CLAW is not, yet at least, at that point, so a lot of customer support translates directly to demands on time from RR Software.