Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83 based; site hou2h.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!seismo!harvard!talcott!panda!genrad!decvax!harpo!whuxlm!whuxl!houxm!hou2h!hhs From: hhs@hou2h.UUCP (H.SHARP) Newsgroups: net.columbia Subject: Re: Old fashion computing practices @ NASA Message-ID: <1006@hou2h.UUCP> Date: Mon, 12-Aug-85 18:03:26 EDT Article-I.D.: hou2h.1006 Posted: Mon Aug 12 18:03:26 1985 Date-Received: Sat, 17-Aug-85 06:29:24 EDT References: <1079@cbdkc1.UUCP>, <1073@ames.UUCP> Organization: AT&T Bell Labs, Holmdel NJ Lines: 39 Some followup information:' A Software Engineering Institute was formed several years ago at Goddard Space Flight Center. The lead person in that effort is Frank McGarry. They have had several Conferences over the last few years and have produced booklets documenting the results of the conferences (i.e. papers presented). They have also produced results of tests done on different projects to compare metrics used. They have published handbooks for software managers suggesting methods for managing software projects. A film was produced and shown at several centers describing the "crisis" in software engineering. All these efforts lead me to believe that Headquarters has perhaps realized that something needs to be done NASA-wide to help the situation. At Goddard, there is now an ADA working group which has Ada running on several VAX's among other computers, and they are studying the use of ADA. Another directorate at GSFC (CD. 500) has purchased several Symbolics processors and is proceeding to explore AI applications in its area. I am not aware of any systems running UNIX yet. As shown by the above, there are efforts underway to upgrade and to modernize the computing at NASA. The question is if and when results will be seen. The "turf wars" mentioned in a previous article are ever present. With Space Station coming up, I don't believe NASA can afford to drag its feet. But, to end with a particular, one division at GSFC which works in communications had been writing its switching software in MASM, a structured assembly language with a PDL and preprocessor designed by Sperry. When a new Prime contractor took over, it insisted that they "modernize" and program the next project in a high-level language. And what language did they pick? Fortran, of course. P.S. REMEMBER! When you dump on civil servants, you dump on NASA!