billwolf@hubcap.clemson.edu (William Thomas Wolfe,2847,) (02/28/89)
[Karl Nyberg e-mailed me some information regarding my recent
article, which I believe to be of general interest...]
From: karl@grebyn.com (Karl Nyberg)
Organization: Grebyn Corporation
Phone: +1 703 281 2104
> Ada has far more reuseable ADTs already coded. I'm coding a concurrent
> ADT right now, in fact. Vendors such as EVB, lib systems, Wizard
> Software, and so on, have entire catalogs of Ada components you can buy
That's pretty good. You only missed about another half dozen to ten
vendors.
[Editor's note: I did say "and so on"...]
> Also, one can obtain a magtape copy of the Ada Software Repository from
>
> MACA
> Attn: Janet Mckellar
> P.O. Drawer 100 - Bldg T148
> White Sands Missile Rang, NM 88002
About ten other people also provide this service. Differing formats are
supported by others for varying fees. Folks on the arpanet can get it via
anonymous FTP.
> The Ada Information Clearinghouse Newsletter periodically summarizes major
> Ada software libraries and systems; it's free, and you can get on the
> mailing list by sending a postcard to
>
> Ada Information Clearinghouse
> c/o IIT Research Institute
> 4600 Forbes Blvd., Second Floor
> Lanham, MD 20706-4312
As does my newsletter and recent book. In case you missed the Jan/Feb Ada
Letters issue in which a draft of this review was printed:
==================================================================
Ada: Sources and Resources, 1989 Edition
by Karl A. Nyberg
A Capsule Review by Dave Emery
At one time or another, most of us have served as "resource people"
for our companies on Ada. Ada: Sources and Resources serves as a
single point for answering most of those non-technical "I have an Ada
question" phone calls that we seem to get. Karl Nyberg has collected
information on vendors, organizations, publications and conferences,
and other related sources of Ada information, and placed it all into a
single volume.
The book starts off with a capsule history (presented chronologically)
of the Ada program. This is particularly useful for documenting the
order of events in the history of Ada. (Which came first, the ACVC
contract or the Preliminary Ada reference manual?) The remaining
chapters cover compiler vendors, software tool vendors, groups and
organizations (both government and private), publications, electronic
services, consultants and trainers, conferences, professional
recruiters, books and finally a glossary of terms and acronyms. Each
chapter covers the material alphabetically, with extensive
cross-referencing.
The best entries in the book include historical information on the
vendor or organization, as well as information on the product or
service provided. The entries always include a point of contact.
Some entries are not as complete as others, and this lack of
consistency is one of the book's few shortcomings.
In his forward, Bob Mathis compares the book to a well-stocked
Rolodex. This book has a tremendous advantage over a Rolodex, namely
the comprehensive indexes. There are separate indexes for names of
individuals (points of contact), "items" (proper names, such as ACEC
and VADS), vendors, and organizations. It would be nice if there
were an index to compilers and tools by computer, to answer questions
like "What tools run on a Sun?"
This is a valuable book. I had a pre-publication draft that saved me
a lot of time going through back issues of Ada Letters and sales
brochures to find the name of a particular vendor or organizational
contact. It deserves a place right next to your telephone, either to
answer questions, or to call someone to get an answer.
==================================================================
[I have deleted Karl's standard advertising blurb]
Karl A. Nyberg karl@grebyn.com, nyberg@ajpo.sei.cmu.edu
Grebyn Corporation karl%grebyn.com@haven.umd.edu
P. O. Box 497 {decuac,haven}!grebyn!karl
Vienna, VA 22183-0497 703-281-2194