Ada and beyond : software policies for the Department of Defense / Committee on the Past and Present Contexts for the Use of Ada in the Department of Defense, Computer Science and Telecommunications Board, Commission on Physical Sciences, Mathematics, and Applications, National Research Council.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on the Past and Present Contexts for the Use of Ada in the Department of Defense.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

United States. Department of Defense--Data processing.

United States.

Ada (Computer program language).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (113 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Washington, D.C. : National Academy Press, 1997.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The Ada programming language was created by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) nearly two decades ago to provide a general-purpose programming language for defense and commercial use, but has evolved into a niche solution for safety-critical systems, primarily in defense applications. Ada and Beyond presents an approach for the DOD to move beyond the debate over its policy that requires the use of Ada for all new software development. It describes the importance of the software engineering process and recommends to DOD mechanisms for more effective review of software development and improved collection of data on software project outcomes. The volume also analyzes the technical, empirical, and business cases for using Ada and other programming languages, makes recommendations regarding the appropriate conditions under which DOD should continue to require the use of Ada, and details activities that require funding by DOD in order for Ada to remain a viable programming language.

Contents:

Ada and Beyond

Copyright

Preface

Contents

Executive Summary

WHAT SHOULD THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE DO ABOUT THE ADA PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE?

CONTEXT AND TRENDS

FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Ada Competitive Advantage

Applicability of Policy to DOD Domains

Scope of Policy

Policy Implementation

Investment in Ada

Software Metrics Data

WHAT THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE SHOULD DO ABOUT ADA

ORGANIZATION OF THIS REPORT

1 The Changing Context for DOD Software Development

GROWTH IN THE COMMERCIAL SOFTWARE INDUSTRY

OBSTACLES TO BROAD ADOPTION OF ADA

Low Commercial Awareness and Limited Sponsorship

Limited Extent of Academic Instruction in Ada

Limited Availability of Ada Tools and Compilers

Assumption That Ada Has to Control Everything

Need for Ada-compatible Application Programming Interfaces

Labor Market Forces

DOD PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE POLICY

Policy History

Ada's Place in Current DOD Programming Language Policy

Implementation of Policy on Waivers

Importance of Appropriate Expertise

Level of Applicability

Implications

DOD INVESTMENT STRATEGY

SUMMARY OF ADA TRENDS

CRITICAL QUESTIONS

NOTES

2 Software Engineering and the Role of Ada in DOD Systems

SOFTWARE ENGINEERING PROCESS AND ARCHITECTURE

Economics of Software Engineering

Reducing the Complexity of Software Products

Improving Software Processes

Influence of Software Environments, Tools, and Languages on the Software Engineering Process

TECHNICAL EVALUATION OF ADA 95 AND OTHER THIRD-GENERATION PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES

AVAILABLE COMPARISONS OF ADA 83 AND OTHER THIRD-GENERATION PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES

Analyses of Language Features

Comparisons of Empirical Data

Anecdotal Experience from Projects

THE NEED TO INSTITUTE COLLECTION OF DATA FOR SOFTWARE METRICS

NOTES.

3 DOD Software Policy: Analysis and Recommendations

POLICY OBJECTIVES AND CRITERIA RELEVANT TO MEETING THEM

Relating Criteria to Objectives

Critical Criteria in DOD's Selection of a Programming Language

Warfighting and Commercially Dominated Applications

Warfighting Applications

Commercially Dominated Applications

ADA BUSINESS-CASE ANALYSIS

Criteria for Evaluation of Ada

Software Size

Process

Environment

Personnel

High Assurance and Real-Time Performance

Ease of Change

Socio-Technical Infrastructure

Conclusions

ASSESSMENT OF POLICY ALTERNATIVES

Conditions for Requiring Ada

Application Subsystem Is in the Warfighting Sector

Maintenance Is Directed by DOD

Subsystem Is Critical or Larger Than 10, 000 Lines of Code

No Better COTS, NDI, or 4GL Solution Exists

No Life-cycle Cost-effectiveness Consideration Justifies Use of Another Language

Ada Requirement

95 Percent or More of the Subsystem 's Warfighting Software Is to Be Written in Ada

Language Choice Process

Replace the Waiver Approval Process with Other DOD Software Reviews

Reconsider the Level at Which Waivers Can Be Approved

Investment in Ada Infrastructure

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF INVESTMENT IN ADA INFRASTRUCTURE

4 Implementation of Recommended DOD Software Policy

RECOMMENDED POLICY FOR CHOICE OF PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE

Goals of Software Development

Guidelines for Choice of Programming Language

Recommended Policy for Requiring the Use of the Ada Programming Language

SOFTWARE ENGINEERING PLAN REVIEW PROCESS

Policy Framework

Stakeholder Role

Approval Authority and Milestones.

Submission of Software Engineering Plans

Software Engineering Codes

5 Implementation of Recommended Strategy for Investment in Ada

GOALS OF THE INVESTMENT STRATEGY

ADA INVESTMENT STRATEGY

Language Maintenance and Enhancement

Support for Ada Compilers, Tools, and Application Programming Interfaces

Curriculum Development

Centralized Support Organization

DETAILED PLAN FOR INVESTMENTS IN ADA TECHNOLOGY AND SUPPORT

CONCLUSION

Bibliography

Appendixes

Appendix A DOD Draft Software Management Policy Directive with Further Modifications Suggested by t...

INTRODUCTION

PROPOSED TEMPLATE FOR DOD DIRECTIVE ON SOFTWARE MANAGEMENT

Appendix B Technical Descriptions of Ada and Other Third-Generation Programming Languages

ADA 83

ADA 95

C

C++

JAVA

DOMAIN-SPECIFIC COMPARISON

Appendix C

Appendix D Detailed Comparisons of Ada and Other Third-Generation Programming Languages

EVALUATIONS OF LANGUAGE FEATURES

PROJECT EVALUATION DATA

Open-Source Data

Proprietary Data

Cost

Delivered Defects

Reliability

Productivity

Appendix E Briefings and Position Papers Received by the Committee

BRIEFINGS

POSITION PAPERS.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. 69-72).

ISBN:

9786610192106

9781280192104

1280192100

9780309589802

0309589800

9780585002514

0585002517

OCLC:

42328537