Re: GAO report: C-17 embedded software problems

Re: GAO report: C-17 embedded software problems

[europa.eng.gtefsd.com!fs7.ece.cmu.edu!news.sei.cmu.edu!ajpo.sei.cmu.edu!w]

In article <C74oEL.4A5@world.std.com> srctran@world.std.com (Gregory Aharonian)
 writes:
>[nastygram about MickeyDees not delivering their software]

What's this got to do with Ada?  To my knowledge, very little
of the embedded software is written in Ada.  The C-17 simulator,
on the other hand, was written almost entirely in Ada, delivered
on time, and within budget.  But you were going to post that the
next time, right? :-)


-- 
-Comments above aren't neceessarily the opinion of the SEI, AJPO, or CAE-Link-
David Weller  |  Have you hugged your DRAGOON lately?
----I'm the Ultimate International Masochist: I speak Ada AND Esperanto!-----

Re: GAO report: C-17 embedded software problems

[Gregory Aharonian]

>>In article <C74oEL.4A5@world.std.com> srctran@world.std.com (Gregory
>> Aharonian) writes:
>>[nastygram about MickeyDees not delivering their software]

>What's this got to do with Ada?  To my knowledge, very little

It has nothing to do about Ada.  It does have a lot to do with the
economics of defense software development, which does affect Ada
greatly.  The GAO puts out good reports discussing such subjects, 
and most in the Ada world never hear about such reports.  So as
a public service, I post some of these abstracts, without implying
anything.  Sounds like you're getting a bit paranoid.

If you have some data on the C-17 simulator in Ada, post it.
People want to know about such things.  In fact, if you have
anything favorable about Ada, get someone to contact the
trade press, and get it mentioned.  The trade press is so 
devoid of news about Ada, especially favorable news, that the
general impression is that captured by the writer in Business
Week - that Ada is an obscure Defense programming language.

The Ada Mandate is a very questionable disruption of market
forces.  If you are going to force such a mandate on the
country, at least have the decency to make sure that as
many conditions as possible are conducive to the Mandate
being successful.  One such condition is generating as much
favorable public exposure of Ada as possible.  Unfortunately,
no one inside the Mandated world gives a damn, and the language
slowly dies.  And if you don't believe me, read your own DoD
studies showing that the country does not have the infrastructure
to support the Mandate (I assume you believe yourself).

So save your sarcasm and outrage for people spending tax dollars.
If you guys flamed each other to an equivalent degree that you
flame me, the Pentagon would be incinerated.  But you don't, so
don't do it to me.  My tax dollars can be better spent, like
teaching the guys at ASSET how to spell C-D-R-O-M.

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

Re: GAO report: C-17 embedded software problems

[dog.ee.lbl.gov!overload.lbl.gov!agate!usenet.ins.cwru.edu!magnus.acs.ohio]

In article <SRCTRAN.93May17114604@world.std.com> srctran@world.std.com (Gregory
 Aharonian) writes:
>
>>>In article <C74oEL.4A5@world.std.com> srctran@world.std.com (Gregory
>>> Aharonian) writes:
>If you have some data on the C-17 simulator in Ada, post it.

I will try to get something pseudo-official.  I don't work for McD-D,
nor do I have any "inside" sources any longer.  You do, however,
have a good point about publishing more positive stories about Ada.

>The Ada Mandate is a very questionable disruption of market
>forces.

This seems like a new thread...or was it an old one? :-)

>So save your sarcasm and outrage for people spending tax dollars.

Hmm, I've generally agreed with your comments, even though I don't
necessarily approve of your syntactical expression.  I should point
out that my previous post had a smiley in it for the humor-impaired.
Perhaps you missed it?  :-)  <-- Note the smiley on this one.

>If you guys flamed each other to an equivalent degree that you
>flame me, the Pentagon would be incinerated.  But you don't, so
>don't do it to me.  My tax dollars can be better spent, like
>teaching the guys at ASSET how to spell C-D-R-O-M.

*Sigh*  Well, for another _little_ morsel of good news, I am lobbying
very hard to get my local university to provide an anonymous ftp
site for Ada-related software and articles.  So far, things are
looking good.  Personally, I'd rather not tilt at windmills like
ASSET or CARDS -- let them die their own miserable death.  As
"Ada people", we frequently forget that large groups of programmers,
who are empowered with Ada, consist of individual programmers, who
are empowered with anonymous ftp sites and free C++ compilers.  The
GNAt project is fixing the second problem, I've decided to fix (or
at least enhance) the first.

We should all be spending our "flame quotient" on fixing the problem,
not ranting about it.  I feel like I'm doing my part, small as it may
be.

-- 
-Comments above aren't neceessarily the opinion of the SEI, AJPO, or CAE-Link-
David Weller  |  Have you hugged your DRAGOON lately?
----I'm the Ultimate International Masochist: I speak Ada AND Esperanto!-----

Re: GAO report: C-17 embedded software problems

[Gregory Aharonian]

   Sorry for being so testy.  I just get ticked off when other people 
pounce on my slightest mistakes which I do with my own time and little
money, yet still refuse to comment on obvious waste of people spending
our tax dollars.  

>*Sigh*  Well, for another _little_ morsel of good news, I am lobbying
>very hard to get my local university to provide an anonymous ftp
>site for Ada-related software and articles.  So far, things are
>looking good.  Personally, I'd rather not tilt at windmills like
>ASSET or CARDS -- let them die their own miserable death.  As
>"Ada people", we frequently forget that large groups of programmers,
>who are empowered with Ada, consist of individual programmers, who
>are empowered with anonymous ftp sites and free C++ compilers.  The
>GNAt project is fixing the second problem, I've decided to fix (or
>at least enhance) the first.

   That's great, but it kills me that you have to spend your time
doing something that three different DoD software reuse centers, funded
with our tax dollars, refuse to do.  Even worse, consider the Ada Simtel
repository, which Rick Conn operates.  Look at what he says every time
he posts information on the ASR:

    The  Ada  Software  Repository  (ASR)  is  a  repository  of Ada
    programs, software  components, and educational material that has been
    established on the SIMTEL20  host computer on the Defense Data Network
    (DDN).  This repository has been accessible to any host computer on the
    network since November 26, 1984.  The ASR is currently a VOLUNTARY
    ACTIVITY WITHOUT FUNDING.  Disk space is provided on SIMTEL20 on a
    SPACE-AVAILABLE BASIS and is subject to GOING AWAY without warning
    if the need arises.

The ASR is reduced to being a voluntary activity?  Disk space is provided
on a space-available basis?  The most effective Ada reuse operation is
being nickled-and-dimed to death, while the three sponsored efforts are
practically invisible.  Someone should blow in John Foreman's ear and
kick-start his pilot light as overseer of these official efforts.  Not only
are they wrecking Ada reuse as a concept, but they are stifling private
efforts to get Ada reuse off the ground.  I assume there is some strategy
behind it, but under any scenario (and I'm watching Wild Palms), it escapes me.

Oh well.

Greg

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