> Samuel Mize[SMTP:[log in to unmask]] sez:
>
> Here's my take on why there
> isn't as much homebuilt freeware for Ada:
>
> * Common, cheap/free Ada compilers for home computers have only become
> available recently.
[snip]
> * The Ada community is much smaller.
[snip]
> * Ada has just recently penetrated the colleges.
[snip]
> * Ada people tend to use bindings to existing systems.
>
to which I'll add:
* Because of the regulations under which they live,
many contractors and their government customers
have to go through a lengthy and tedious approval
process before they can make their software available
to the public.
* Free software has until recently had a very bad
reputation among more conservative managers and
(to a lesser extent) engineers.
Thus: no push, no pull.
* A tradition has developed of distributing free source
code in C with Unix calls as a lingua franca among
platforms, particularly when the software is terminal
based or a filter. Every freeware developer wants his
or her freeware to be used. Distributing it in Ada
would even now draw more complaints than thanks
in most communities.
Bob Crispen
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