From: srctran@world.std.com (Gregory Aharonian)
Subject: Can Strassman spell "Ada"?
Organization: The World Public Access UNIX, Brookline, MA
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 16:01:58 GMT


    One of the reasons why defense contractors are so lax and unenthusiastic
to promote and push Ada outside of the defense community (or more exactly,
outside the confines of the DoD software engineering contracts they agree to)
is that the DoD does a lousy job of promoting and pushing Ada.  There are an
endless number of conferences and trades shows, perfect for introducing the
public to Ada, where AJPO/ADAIC/SEI/STARS never show up, even when it costs
nothing to do so.

    Case in point, showing ball-dropping at the highest levels, is the
October 15, 1992 issue of Datamation.  Early on in the magazine, there is
an article about Object Oriented COBOL and the future plans of the COBOL
community.  Admittedly a bizarre goal, at least COBOL adherents and vendors
are trying and pushing their language to as many audiences as possible.
With Datamation, you have readers with COBOL systems thinking of switching
to newer languages and systems, readers who are looking for reasons to do so.
The COBOL community is making its arguments, so why isn't the Ada community.

   And in fact, many pages later, there is an interview with Paul Strassman,
head of DoD IT policy (to whatever extent that is possible), an often-praiser
inside the DoD of Ada, with an opportunity to say whatever he wants about
software (the software press isn't too agressive).

   Yet in three pages of questions and answers, Ada is not mentioned ONCE.
Ada - A D A - its a simple word, easily insertable anywhere.  For example,
one of his questions was "We've heard that some people in the DoD are reluctant
to switch to the new systems", a perfect setup for a response like ("Yes,
for example, many were first leary of using Ada, but now its use is growing
like crazy, and we are achieving good cost savings").  But NO, no mention of
Ada. Ada, Ada, Ada, Ada, three letters so easy to say and spell, if you care.
No mention of how Ada is helping the DoD achieve its IT goals.

   Here's another missed opportunity. On September 22, he spoke at an
Executive Breakfast in Falls Church, sponsored by Federal Computer Week.
His talk was published in the Air Force's STSC CrossTalk, October 1992.
His talk was about 5000 words, mentioning CIM, CASE, reuse, C3I, DMRDs
and other topics.  Again, only ONE mention of Ada anywhere, in the reuse
section as a passing comment, with endless talk about the CIM program.

(Which is actually not a wise thing to do.  The October 26th issue of
InformationWeek has the following paragraph: "The Pentagon is in the
position of opposing its own corporate information management (CIM) plan.
In response to criticism from the General Accounting Office that by
selecting standard systems before reeningeering its business processes -
contrary to the CIM plan - the DoD may not realize $37 billion in savings,
the DoD now says that strict compliance with the plan is impractical).

Don't talk about Ada, which does work, talk about CIM which doesn't seem to
work - and you expect the commercial world to take the Ada community seriously?

   For other commands, the same thing.  The November 9 issue of ComputerWorld
has a full page article about the Air Force Material Command's (AFMC) massive
consolidation and relationship with the DoD-wide CIM.  AFMC is a big group,
126,000 civilians and military personnel, with a big share of the Air Force's
budget.  Very credible example maker, yet no mention of Ada anywhere in the
article.  Talking about the DoD's CIM without mentioning Ada shold be grounds
for a court martial.

   Push, push, push. Market, market, market.  Otherwise Ada is not going
to catch on to any significant degree of success outside of the defense
community, being another cult language like Lisp.  What's surprising with
Strassman is that his non-DoD background in the real world is with such
successful marketing companies as Kraft, General Foods and Xerox.  If those
companies marketed their products like Ada has been, they would have been
great candidates for selling their stock short.  I want Strassman, whenever
he is in public wearing a shirt with the letters "Ada" on it, or a picture
of the Countess, or both.  His license plate should read DOD-ADA, as should
his holidary cards.  Otherwise, find someone else to manage my tax dollars.

    Until the DoD ends its internal divisions over Ada, puts some Generals
behind it, whips its contractors in line (to at least demand consistency in
the stories they tell about the role of Ada), and most of all, market, market,
market, very few people outside the defense community are going to take
Ada seriously, no matter how good the language is.  And for those of us
waiting for a market to sell reusable Ada story, that day will never come.

Gregory Aharonian
Source Translation & Optimization
-- 
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Greg Aharonian
Source Translation & Optimiztion
P.O. Box 404, Belmont, MA 02178