The STARS system is for managing terminal (i.e. near airports) air traffic
control.  It is largely written in Ada, but the test cited was misleading,
as it was performed on slower processors than the operational system will
use, and the code was not optimised for the actual platform used.  Comparing
the test to real-world use would be like comparing apples and oranges.
STARS has frequently been cited for being behind schedule because the system
is ambitious in scope (see GAO reports), but the system itself is pretty
well done, from all accounts I hear.

By the way, this information came from a meeting today at the FAA Technical
Center, so I think it's fairly reliable!

Glenn Booker

----- Original Message -----
From: F. Britt Snodgrass <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, April 07, 1999 10:15 AM
Subject: FAA STARS in USA Today


> This mornings (April 7) issue of USA Today has a front page article on a
> new FAA aircraft tracking software system called STARS that is
> reportedly too slow to use.  The article implies that some of the
> slowness is due to running on old hardware but otherwise doesn't give
> much detail.  Is anyone on this list familiar with STARS and know what
> language(s) it is written in?
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> F. Britt Snodgrass
> Team Ada                                                [log in to unmask]
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
>