Building consensus for Ada 9X

Language design is a most difficult task. While the original design of a language has the distinct advantage of filling a blank page, the revision of a language needs to abide by a number of constraints that limit the degree of design freedom. These constraints are both of a technical and a nontechnical nature. In a language revision, each desired change has both a benefit and a cost. Deciding which changes to incorporate into the language becomes a cost/benefit analysis within the framework of the existing constraints. In this article, we will explore some of these constraints and their impact on the Ada 9X revision process

The data model of the Configuration Management Assistant

In an environment in which systems are configured by reusing existing subsystems, the determination of complete and consistent configurations is a non-trivial and error-prone task, although considerable information about the subsystems may already be available from previous configurations. The Configuration Management Assistant is a tool that supports tracking and exploiting such information in the difficult process of re-configuration on a large scale. Its data model was designed to be as independent as possible of configuration management policies and procedures and yet provide substantive assistance in this process. The most important elements of this data model are described in this paper

Issues in designing object management systems

This paper summarizes the discussions of the Object Management System (OMS) session at the Chinon Workshop. The session identified numerous capabilities which might be required in an OMS. The facilities which were agreed upon as essential to an OMS are presented in Section 1, OMS Core Facilities. A number of issues in the realization of these and other capabilities, influenced in part by specific application scenarios, are discussed in Section 2, OMS Requirements Issues. Promising applications requiring further investigation can be found in Section 3, Perceptions for the Future. Some global observations on the past and future conduct of the OMS field are summarized in Section 4, Concluding Observations

Object management issues for software engineering environments : workshop report

During recent years, several research efforts in the area of software development environments have focused on the provision of uniform Object Management Systems (OMS) as a framework for tool integration and communication. This paper summarizes discussions of an OMS Workshop on the issues that arise in defining an appropriate data model for an OMS

Pragmatic techniques for program analysis and verification

The Program Development System (PDS) is a collection of programming tools created as an extension of the ECL programming system23. It contains components that assist the programmer in the definition and modular structuring of large programs at different levels of algorithmic abstraction. These components are supplemented by a program analysis package that produces an information pool to be used for such tasks as source-to-source optimization, semi-automated program documentation, fault detection and program verification. This paper describes the core of the analyzing package, the Symbolic Evaluator. In its implementation we have incorporated pragmatic methods for handling data sharing patterns, and for characterizing and reasoning about the behaviour of loops and procedures. The impact of these methods upon program verification techniques is briefly discussed

Project SPERBER : background, status, future plans

Project SPERBER is concerned with the development of a high-quality software environment facilitating the development of software written in Ada or Basic Pearl. It is to be used for the design, implementation, maintenance and enhancement of embedded system software. This presentation elaborates on the background that led to project SPERBER, presents its current status and outlines future plans. It also provides an overview of the system structure from the viewpoint of a user

Ada compiler validation

This paper discusses Ada Compiler Validation from the viewpoint of both the compiler supplier and the compiler user. The objectives of the requirement for validation and the resulting benefits, as well as the limitations of validation are presented. The process of Ada compiler validation is detailed along with the various problems as well as issues relating to validation and the use of validated compilers. Solutions to these problems and issues are explained, as they are proposed in a recent AJPO draft of a revised validation policy

Programming with Ada - the Ada environment

This paper examines two aspects of using Ada for the implementation of large program systems. First, those elements of the Ada language that are particularly targeted at programming in the large are discussed. Conclusions about appropriate design methodologies that match these language features are presented along with an explanation of some potential problems. Second, an overview of efforts to develop programming support environments for Ada beyond the Ada compilation system is given. The rationale and the scope of on-going standardization work in the area of Ada Programming Support Environments (APSE) is presented

Die Programmiersprache Ada : Hintergründe, Entwicklung und Sprachkonzepte

Die aufgezeigten Phasen der Ada-Entwicklung beleuchten die beispiellose Vorarbeit, die zur endgültigen Festlegung von Ada führte. Die äußerst intensive Interaktion zwischen zukünftigen Benutzern, Sprachexperten und dem Entwicklungsteam hat stark dazu beigetragen, daß Ada dem derzeitigen Wissenstand im Bereich der Programmiersprachen entspricht und gleichzeitig den Bedürfnissen des Anwenders optimal gerecht wird

Finite Unions for Ada 95

In a recent project the Ada language turned out to be not as flexible as we expected it to be. This forced us to model our application in a way that was less elegant, less maintainable and less efficient. In this paper we propose to add a language construct to the language that would enable us to do what we were missing. The extension is based on finite unions with dispatching and can quite easily be integrated into the language and efficiently implemented