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Subject:
From:
Michael Feldman <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Michael Feldman <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Wed, 31 Jul 2002 12:18:54 -0400
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[said Ron]
>
> The key point is, Ada, and other sensible technologies (which eliminates
> all C-class languages, including Java), are going to be around as long as
> there are responsible, competent Software Engineers, committed to doing
> high quality work.  While it is true the percentage of people in the
> software industry who fit those criteria might appear to be shrinking, it
> is just a matter of time before public outrage, if nothing more, will force
> the issue for many domains.
>
> sro
>
Good points, but I've seen little "public outrage" over software
quality. People bitch about Microsoft products (as one example -
I'm not trashing Microsoft in particular) but for the most part,
they do not take their business elsewhere. They shrug it off as
somehow beng "in the nature of things".

"The public" reacts when something *really* bad happens (Sept. 11,
say), or when something *really* hits them in the pocketbook
(Enron or WorldCom, say). I'm afraid that unless something of
this nature happens that can be *clearly* attributed to lousy
software, we'll see no "public outrage" on this issue.

When GM recalled millions of cars to replace the software in
millions of airbags, it hardly made the papers. The airbags were
popping off unexpectedly in non-accident situations. This can
be *dangerous*, right? Where was the outrage?

Meanwhile, we Ada advocates try to find evidence to rebut the
old Catch-22: Ada is not being taught much anymore because
the faculty and students don't see the jobs out there, and the
employers walk away from Ada because they don't see the graduates
who are educated to use it.

But we know, and have discussed many times here, there just
isn't much evidence coming to light. I'd feel better if each
time this subject came up, I got a minor flood of new tips for
my project summary. But that's just not happening. If the
projects are out there, people can't or won't talk about it.

I feel like a muckraking journalist, trolling for tips that
I can publish without attribution. I'll take what I can get.:-)

Sigh. Back to work.

Mike Feldman

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