Some information on the Ada programming language

<title>Some information on the Ada programming language</title>

<H1>Some information on the Ada programming language</H1>

<I>
(The following was extracted from AJPO information flyer G40-1193 on the
<A HREF="http://sw-eng.falls-church.va.us/AdaIC/">
Ada Information Clearinghouse;
</A>
see also below.)
</I>

<H2>What is Ada?</H2>

Ada is an internationally standardized, general-purpose programming
language used in a wide variety of applications -- from missile control
to payroll processing to air traffic control.
<P>

Ada contains features commonly found in other programming languages and
provides additional support for modern programming practices, for
controlling special purpose hardware to meet real-time deadlines, and
for the creation and enhancement of large and complex programs by groups
of programmers over long periods of time.
<P>

Ada encourages good programming practices by incorporating software
engineering principles with strong typing, modularity, portability,
reusability and readability.  These features reduce costs in software
development, verifying, debugging, and maintenance that typically puts
strain on an organization's resources over the life of the software.
<P>

<DL>

<DT>
  Portability.
<DD>
  Ada developed for one system can easily be recompiled and ported to
  other systems, since all Ada compilers are validated up-front and Ada
  is an internationally standardized software language by MIL-STD-1815A,
  ANSI, and ISO.
  <P>

<DT>
  Modularity.
<DD>
  Ada organizes code into self-contained units that can be planned,
  written, compiled, and tested separately; this feature allows programs
  to be written in portions by teams working in parallel before being
  integrated into the final product.
  <P>

<DT>
  Reusability.
<DD>
  Ada's package concept allows users to develop software components that
  may be retrieved, used, and/or changed without affecting the rest of
  the program.  Ada's Generic program units also allow programmers to
  perform the same logical function on more than one type of data.
  Packages and Generics also support data abstraction and
  object-oriented design.
  <P>

<DT>
  Reliability.
<DD>
  Ada strong typing detects errors more easily in both initial and
  separate unit compilations.  Ada's exception handling mechanism
  supports fault-tolerant applications by providing a complete and
  portable way of detecting and gracefully responding to error
  conditions.  Ada's tasking features support parallelism using
  high-level constructs instead of ad-hoc, error-prone calls to
  operating system primitives.
  <P>

<DT>
  Maintainability.
<DD>
  Ada's program structuring based on modularity and high-level of
  readability makes it easier for one programmer to modify or enhance
  software written by another.  Modularity also allows package
  modification without affecting other program modules.
  <P>

</DL>

<H2>Ada Applications</H2>

Ada's globally documented successes include usage across a wide range of
applications.  Today Ada drives:

<UL>
<LI>
  Payroll systems, commercial banking systems, stock quotation
  transaction systems, language translation system and RDMSs.
<LI>
  Geophysical exploration and data processing systems, and chemical
  analysis systems.
<LI>
  Commercial cellular phone switching and commercial telecommunications
  applications like PABXs.
<LI>
  FAA Ada in commercial jets, air traffic control systems, in-flight
  detection and guidance systems, flight training simulators, and flight
  control/flight display systems.
<LI>
  NASAs Space Shuttle and Space Station Environments.
<LI>
  Automated manufacturing systems, automated materials handling systems,
  robotics welding systems, and inventory management systems.
<LI>
  Real-time continuous medical monitoring systems and real-time embedded
  control of copier and duplicator products.
<LI>
  Strategic military embedded systems, the majority of which are used in
  real-time applications, systems and mission trainers.
</UL>

<H2>
<A HREF="http://www.adahome.com/Discover/">
A Short Introduction for New Ada Programmers</A>
</H2>

For those who are discovering Ada, the Ada Home Web Server has a summary
introduction to Ada, lists of textbooks, information on free compilers,
etc., etc.
<P>

<H2>
<A HREF="/~dirk/ada.html">
Pointers to Ada related information</A>
</H2>

<hr>
<P>

<PRE>
Copyright 1992.  IIT Research Institute.  All rights assigned to the U.S. 
Government (Ada Joint Program Office).  Permission to reprint this flyer, in 
whole or in part, is granted, provided the AdaIC is acknowledged as the 
source.  If this flyer is reprinted as a part of a published document, please 
send the AdaIC a courtesy copy of the publication.

                     Ada Information Clearinghouse (AdaIC)
                                   P.O. Box 46593
                            Washington, DC  20050-6593
                 703/685-1477, 800/AdaIC-11, FAX 703/685-7019
               adainfo@ajpo.sei.cmu.edu; CompuServe 70312,3303

The AdaIC is sponsored by the Ada Joint Program Office and operated by IIT 
Research Institute.
</PRE>

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<P>

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<P>

Last update: 97/03/10.
<P>

<ADDRESS>
<A HREF="/~dirk/dirk.html">Dirk Craeynest</A>
</ADDRESS>