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"Team Ada: Ada Advocacy Issues (83 & 95)" <[log in to unmask]>
X-To:
Chris Sparks <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Wed, 16 Aug 2000 21:48:03 -0700
Reply-To:
"Robert C. Leif, Ph.D." <[log in to unmask]>
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From:
"Robert C. Leif, Ph.D." <[log in to unmask]>
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From: Bob Leif
To: Chris Sparks et al.

I wish to echo Chris' frustration with present commercial software. A few
days usage and associated frustration with these unreliable, poorly designed
products should be sufficient for all but the dullest to realize that there
is a market for reliable, well designed commercial software. What has been
lacking is the entrepreneurial spirit in the Ada community. If we make one
commercial success, we can be both very well compensated and perform the
great service of demonstrating the commercial utility of software
engineering combined with Ada. We now have a moment of opportunity. Please
see,
“SIGAda 99, Workshop: How do We Expedite the Commercial Use of Ada?” Ada
Letters XX pp 19-26 (2000). Since equitable, cooperative, distributed
software development in Ada is possible, we have both a technological and a
business advantage.

As for browsers, rewriting either Netscape or Internet Explorer in their
present form would be a mistake. However, the creation of a well engineered
environment in Ada that included: a XML rendering system, a Window manager,
and a combined internal-external file manager could be a killer application.
It should also a very significant part of an operating system written in
Ada.

The replacement of the present Windows GUI by XML including vector graphics
would provide a programming language and operating system independent
rendering system. It would also provide a means to create a combined screen
and printer driver class, which could be specialized for each type of
hardware.

The Window manager should be based on Ada protected types and tasks - not
call-backs. I believe that Microsoft used the word Explorer for both its
browser and file manager because of the obvious necessity to eventually
combine the two.

There has to be a layer that interfaces to both the Web and the present file
system. Applications should be able to address files both on the local disc
drives and on the web. The syntax for the user should make the web and the
local computer look like a continuum. The Ada POSIX binding might be a
reasonable place to start. The human interfaces to software that runs
locally and client-server software should be essentially identical.


-----Original Message-----
From: Team Ada: Ada Advocacy Issues (83 & 95)
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Chris Sparks
Sent: Tuesday, August 15, 2000 11:16 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Venting


Hi everyone,

Sorry for venting, however, if you want to ignore this message then
use the "delete" button.

<<vent mode on>>

Netscape should be written in Ada!  End of story.  All the crashing
it does really ticks me off!

<<vent mode off>>

Thanks,
Chris Sparks, Boeing
(714) 372 - 9791

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