[net.ai] Translation into Ada: Request for Info

hoey@NRL-AIC@sri-unix.UUCP (09/01/83)

From:  Dan Hoey <hoey@NRL-AIC>

It is estimated that the WMCCS communications system will require five
years to translate into Ada.  Not man-years, but years; if the
staffing is assumed to exceed two hundred then we are talking about a
man-millenium for this task.

Has any work been done on mechanical aids for translating programs
into Ada?  I seek pointers to existing and past projects, or
assurances that no work has been done in this area.  Any pointers to
such information would be greatly appreciated.

To illustrate my lack of knowledge in this field, the only work I have
heard of for translating from one high-level language to another is 
UniLogic's translator for converting BLISS to PL/1.  As I understand 
it, their program only works on the Scribe document formatter but
could be extended to cover other programs.  I am interested in hearing
of other translators, especially those for translating into
strongly-typed languages.

Dan Hoey HOEY@NRL-AIC.ARPA