Ada and Beyond

Ada and Beyond

Software Policies for the Department of Defense

  • Editor: National Academies Press
  • ISBN: 9780309055970
  • eISBN Pdf: 9780309589802
  • Lloc de publicació:  United States
  • Any de publicació digital: 1997
  • Mes: Gener
  • Pàgines: 114
  • DDC: 350
  • Idioma: Anglés

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.

  • 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
    • FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
      • Ada Competitive Advantage
      • Applicability of Policy to DOD Domains
      • Scope of Policy
      • Policy Implementation
      • Investment in Ada
      • Software Metrics Data
    • 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
    • NOTES
  • 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
    • NOTES
  • 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
    • NOTES
  • 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
      • CONCLUSION
    • Appendix E Briefings and Position Papers Received by the Committee
      • BRIEFINGS
      • POSITION PAPERS

Matèrias