Re: How to Make Ada more widely used?

[seas.gwu.edu!mfeldman@uunet.uu.net (Michael Feldman)]

In article <EMERY.93Jun1155219@goldfinger.mitre.org> emery@goldfinger.mitre.org
 (David Emery) writes:
>
>"Sequential" Ada (Ada without tasks) is a feasable subset, but there's
>not that much cost in compiling tasks.  There is a fair amount of cost
>in the runtime system.   Removing tasking from the language would
>seriously cripple the language for use in embedded applications...
>
Even Ada/Ed, now available FREE from NYU and other sources (WITH sources!)
handles tasking and generics quite competently. The code it compiles
is for a virtual machine. A compiler-savvy person putting in the effort
could produce a decent back end that would translate the virtual code
to executable. The runtime system is there, with sources and all.
If you wished, you could do this for a DOS machine. You'd have to
distribute the result under GNU rules, which is to say you'd have
to supply your source code. But think of the service you'd do.

In my opinion, a subset Ada83 compiler is a dead issue, a solution in
search of a problem. There's nothing wrong with the Meridian compilers
that a small investment couldn't fix; their basic technology is, IMHO,
quite sound, and they do the full language. Same with Janus and IntegrAda.

Meridian makes a small profit selling their compilers to students, at onesies
retail prices of $99-199, depending on features. I don't think Meridian
has tested the elasticity in dropping their commercial prices to, or 
slightly above, student levels, which would put them in direct competition
with Borland products, and certainly with the high-end "professional"
C-family compilers.

I maintain that (to paraphrase Bill Clinton and co.) it's the attitude, stupid.
It's an attitude change that would make Ada more widely used. It is STILL
the case that the non-Ada world is MUCH more ignorant of Ada than hostile
to it. And Ada's friends do little to rectify the situation, after all
these years. With friends like this, who needs enemies?

Mike Feldman
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Michael B. Feldman
co-chair, SIGAda Education Committee

Professor, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
School of Engineering and Applied Science
The George Washington University
Washington, DC 20052 USA
(202) 994-5253 (voice)
(202) 994-5296 (fax)
mfeldman@seas.gwu.edu (Internet)

"The most important thing is to be sincere, 
and once you've learned how to fake that, you've got it made." 
-- old show-business adage
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