Re: Ada is not a failure.

[cis.ohio-state.edu!magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu!csn!news.den.mmc.com!iplmail !jcrigler@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU (Jim Crigler)]

Greg Aharonian (srctran@world.std.com) wrote in response to a vendor's
self-congratulatory remarks:

: Better promote Ada?  How about getting your Telesoft subsidiary to
: start sticking the phrase "Ada" into its ads.  That would be a good
: start.  Cooperating with ASA and AJPO?  Where have you guys been in
: the last seven years?  Ways not previously tried?  Geesh, there are
: dozens of ways of getting more attention for Ada that should have
: been done years ago.  How about
[suggestions deleted]

How about getting someone inside to write articles for programmers' rags
(like Dr. Dobb's Journal).  As Greg pointed out some weeks ago, DDJ is a
C*-oriented magazine.  While this is true, articles are accepted
regularly about other languages.  The magazine is written largely by its
readers.  Howsabout something from the GNAT types about grafting 9x onto
the GNU back end?  Or from a vendor explaining a really difficult
concept and giving code in Ada for solving it.  Or from an educator
who's qualified to explain that chasing down pointer references isn't
really a sign of virility.

Historical note:  When I began taking `the Doctor' (1986), the
Structured Programming columnist (Namir Clement Shammas [sp?])
_regularly_ talked about Ada.  Now, yes, it is virtually ignored (in
spite of annual issues about software engineering, real-tim
programming, etc.) due to causes Greg has refused to act like a vendor
and let us forget about.

I am occasionally annoyed by Greg's diatribe (and his not responding to
my posting of the section from the OOPSLA brochure [did you miss the
post?] :-), but his function is absolutely vital to the survival of the
language.

Jim Crigler
---------------------------------------------------------------
I'm not allowed to have any sharp opinions that might tear the
padded walls.