What About Ada? The State of the Technology in 2003
• Technical Note
Publisher
Software Engineering Institute
CMU/SEI Report Number
CMU/SEI-2003-TN-021DOI (Digital Object Identifier)
10.1184/R1/6585905.v1Subjects
Abstract
The projected life-cycle cost of a system is a central concern for any program manager (PM) in the Department of Defense (DoD). Choices made early in system development, such as choosing appropriate programming languages, can have profound effects on life-cycle cost.
This report documents a recent investigation which characterized the technical and programmatic risks in reusing significant quantities of legacy Ada code in a new system. The investigation attempted to answer three questions: First, what is the business case for Ada? Second, how is Ada viewed by the defense industry? Third, how is Ada supported by academe? The results of this investigation point to a bleak future for Ada: no longer in the mainstream of computer science education, software engineering practice, or commercial support ADA is little more than a niche language used primarily within the DoD community and in limited civilian market segments, especially where there is defense market crossover or similar requirements as in commercial aviation, process control, and medical instrumentation.
The data collected in this report should help PMs evaluate the risks—both during initial development and throughout the entire life cycle—of using Ada for software-intensive systems.
Cite This Technical Note
Smith, J. (2003, July 1). What About Ada? The State of the Technology in 2003. (Technical Note CMU/SEI-2003-TN-021). Retrieved April 19, 2024, from https://doi.org/10.1184/R1/6585905.v1.
@techreport{smith_2003,
author={Smith, James},
title={What About Ada? The State of the Technology in 2003},
month={Jul},
year={2003},
number={CMU/SEI-2003-TN-021},
howpublished={Carnegie Mellon University, Software Engineering Institute's Digital Library},
url={https://doi.org/10.1184/R1/6585905.v1},
note={Accessed: 2024-Apr-19}
}
Smith, James. "What About Ada? The State of the Technology in 2003." (CMU/SEI-2003-TN-021). Carnegie Mellon University, Software Engineering Institute's Digital Library. Software Engineering Institute, July 1, 2003. https://doi.org/10.1184/R1/6585905.v1.
J. Smith, "What About Ada? The State of the Technology in 2003," Carnegie Mellon University, Software Engineering Institute's Digital Library. Software Engineering Institute, Technical Note CMU/SEI-2003-TN-021, 1-Jul-2003 [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.1184/R1/6585905.v1. [Accessed: 19-Apr-2024].
Smith, James. "What About Ada? The State of the Technology in 2003." (Technical Note CMU/SEI-2003-TN-021). Carnegie Mellon University, Software Engineering Institute's Digital Library, Software Engineering Institute, 1 Jul. 2003. https://doi.org/10.1184/R1/6585905.v1. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Smith, James. What About Ada? The State of the Technology in 2003. CMU/SEI-2003-TN-021. Software Engineering Institute. 2003. https://doi.org/10.1184/R1/6585905.v1