Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!swrinde!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!igor!rutabaga!jls From: jls@rutabaga.Rational.COM (Jim Showalter) Newsgroups: comp.object Subject: Re: Documenting OO Systems Message-ID: Date: 10 Apr 91 05:42:58 GMT References: <20106@alice.att.com> <1991Mar26.191259.14470@i88.isc.com> <27F4D4BE.716@tct.uucp> <1991Apr2.175756.12586@visix.com> <1574@acf5.NYU.EDU> <1991Apr8.101133 Sender: news@Rational.COM Lines: 34 >Just for my benefit, can you give me an idea of what the availability of >cheap, portable Ada compilers is? One reason I gave up on attempts to >do anything with it 6 years ago was that I couldn't find a good development >system. Well, you can get a Meridian compiler for a PC for about $195, last I heard. You can get Alsys and Telesoft compilers for a number of platforms for a grand or so. >Perhaps more schools >would teach Ada (and thus create more Ada supporters) if the compilers were >cheaper. Agreed. So buy Meridian. >I think such pricing strategies >are what cause the failure of good language systems, such as Eiffel and the >latest release of ParcPlace Smalltalk. Agreed again. On the other hand, the adage "you get what you pay for" is certainly true in the compiler world. You can get very inexpensive compilers for some languages (C comes to mind) provided you don't much care about bugs, idiosyncratic interpretations of the language "standard", crappy support for other tools, etc. You can get superb compilers if you're willing to lay out the money for them. I realize that educational institutions work on a different scheme than industrial ones, so for you guys a buggy but cheap compiler is probably the way to go. On the other hand, for a commercial site $20k per seat for a fully integrated lifecycle support environment is a BARGAIN. -- * The opinions expressed herein are my own, except in the realm of software * * engineering, in which case I borrowed them from incredibly smart people. * * * * Rational: cutting-edge software engineering technology and services. *