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AdaWorks <[log in to unmask]>
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Date:
Tue, 30 Nov 1999 20:46:22 -0800
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Steve,

Thanks for your for your informative note regarding the efforts
at Rational.  I know it "bothers" you too.  You  and a few others
have been the bright light within in Rational for Ada since a few of
the other stalwarts such as Jerry Rudisin have left.

Keep up the good work. I am certain everyone on Team-Ada is silently
cheering for you.

Richard

Richard Riehle
[log in to unmask]
AdaWorks Software Engineering
Suite 30
2555 Park Boulevard
Palo Alto, CA 94306
(650) 328-1815
FAX  328-1112
http://www.adaworks.com

On Thu, 18 Nov 1999, Steven Deller wrote:

> > Also, a good point. My notes about Rational were probably a little
> > extreme.  However, it is annoying to visit some non-DoD conference
> > and find that the personnel in the Rational booth are either ignorant
> > of Ada or regard it as an insignificant issue.  It bothers me when I
> > find that Rational marketing people insist that Ada is only a military
> > language and doesn't merit any mention in a non-Military venue.
>
> It bothers us too.
>
> Rational hires about 20 new people every week.  It is hard to ferret them out
> and educate them regarding Ada when they are faced with learning the entire
> Rational product line, including Rational University process tools and
> education, requirements management and risk management tools, one of the best
> configuration management tools, a slew of testing tools for functional
> testing, coverage testing, and load testing on NT and all major UNIX systems.
>  And on and on.
>
> When this occurs, we go back and try to educate them.  Not everyone can grok
> the "Ada religion" evident on this mailing list.
>
> What many have seen as Rational "giving up Ada" is actually Rational working
> hard to be "language neutral".
>
> Rational believes that trying to sell a latter day PC to a 16th Century
> peasant is an effort doomed to failure.  So instead Rational has focused on
> trying to educate the peasants in "process", "requirements analysis", and
> "design".  These have little to do with the language chosen.
>
> One hopes that when the peasants are educated, they will tend to pick a
> language that best supports the software engineering paradigms they have
> learned.  However, Rational also believes that understanding software
> engineering principles and having tools that support those principles reduces
> the impact of a "wrong" language choice.
>
> That said, I just came from an Ada customer that is doing 1970s style
> programming, and worse, is dead set on moving their process to a 1960s style.
>  Sigh...  No CM.  No requirements.  No architecture.  My only hope is that
> they move to C++ before their painfully poor process results in an airplane
> crash using Ada.  I'm serious -- they make software that controls commercial
> aircraft.
>
> That is just a wake up call to those with the Ada religion.  Just because
> someone has your bible, does not mean they are saved ;-}.
>
> Regards,
> Steve
>
> Steven Deller, Apex Ada Marketing
> [log in to unmask], (410) 757 6924
> Rational Software Corporation, http://www.rational.com
> For user email groups, check  http://www.rational.com/support/newsgroup
>
>
>

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