4 ms·

The DoD has not used, and has in fact strongly dissuaded the use of, Ada for almost 20 years.

wil421 13y ago
Ummm.... tell that to the people I know who work at lockheed. Edit: did some research and the people I know work on projects started before the change; F-22/C-130. And it wasnt 20 years ago more like 15, although I couldn't find an exact date.
- josephschmoe 13y ago
  Ada is something of a running gag in the aerospace industry at this point. Only really, really old programs still use it.
  - kjs3 13y ago
    Must be really old programmers working on the Boeing 777 flight control system.
  - wil421 13y ago
    So the "backbone" of a 787 is considered a really, really old program? http://www.adacore.com/customers/787-dreamliner-common-core-system/ http://www.adacore.com/customers/787-dreamliner-common-core-...
- vonmoltke 13y ago
  It was 1997 that DoD started their COTS push. I actually worked in some of the Ada code in the F-22. The code and the SBC it ran on were designed in 1993. My understanding is the code was rewritten in C++ in about 2009. I believe the Ada code in the F-22 PICC module went the same direction as the module design evolved.
  - wil421 13y ago
    Interesting I always figured they used C or C++ but when I found out about ADA's use I was confused because I had never heard of it. I actually was able to watch the F-22s maiden flight back in 1997 I guess same year as the C++ change.
mercurial 13y ago
Out of curiosity, what was the stated reason for the change, and is it all C/C++ nowadays?
- vonmoltke 13y ago
  As I mentioned above, it was part of the COTS kick that DoD got in sometime in 1997. They decided having processing architectures (like the MIL-STD-1750A processor) and a programming language that were basically used only by DoD programs was too expensive and made DoD programs too dependent on a shrinking number of suppliers. It also made recruiting and retaining engineers harder. It also promised to make system upgrades easier and reduce the number of systems that needed to be replaced wholesale. Thus, they decided to start mandating that programs use COTS hardware and software as much as feasible. C and C++ are the languages of choice for hard and firm real-time code. Java is popular for UI code, though C and C++ are still used on some older Solaris-based front-ends.
kjs3 13y ago
The Ada mandate got dropped in 1997, but I don't think it's fair to say they're "strongly dissuaded" it's use. Defense contractors are free to keep using it, and many do (Boeing, for example).

Ummm.... tell that to the people I know who work at lockheed. Edit: did some research and the people I know work on projects started before the change; F-22/C-130. And it wasnt 20 years ago more like 15, although I couldn't find an exact date.

josephschmoe 13y ago
Ada is something of a running gag in the aerospace industry at this point. Only really, really old programs still use it.
- kjs3 13y ago
  Must be really old programmers working on the Boeing 777 flight control system.
- wil421 13y ago
  So the "backbone" of a 787 is considered a really, really old program? http://www.adacore.com/customers/787-dreamliner-common-core-system/ http://www.adacore.com/customers/787-dreamliner-common-core-...
vonmoltke 13y ago
It was 1997 that DoD started their COTS push. I actually worked in some of the Ada code in the F-22. The code and the SBC it ran on were designed in 1993. My understanding is the code was rewritten in C++ in about 2009. I believe the Ada code in the F-22 PICC module went the same direction as the module design evolved.
- wil421 13y ago
  Interesting I always figured they used C or C++ but when I found out about ADA's use I was confused because I had never heard of it. I actually was able to watch the F-22s maiden flight back in 1997 I guess same year as the C++ change.

mercurial 13y ago

Out of curiosity, what was the stated reason for the change, and is it all C/C++ nowadays?

vonmoltke 13y ago
As I mentioned above, it was part of the COTS kick that DoD got in sometime in 1997. They decided having processing architectures (like the MIL-STD-1750A processor) and a programming language that were basically used only by DoD programs was too expensive and made DoD programs too dependent on a shrinking number of suppliers. It also made recruiting and retaining engineers harder. It also promised to make system upgrades easier and reduce the number of systems that needed to be replaced wholesale. Thus, they decided to start mandating that programs use COTS hardware and software as much as feasible. C and C++ are the languages of choice for hard and firm real-time code. Java is popular for UI code, though C and C++ are still used on some older Solaris-based front-ends.

kjs3 13y ago

The Ada mandate got dropped in 1997, but I don't think it's fair to say they're "strongly dissuaded" it's use. Defense contractors are free to keep using it, and many do (Boeing, for example).