Page 25 - Marie Lenzi, the Editor, says,

"Eiffel, our pure entry, is a beautiful, smart, elegant language and Ada, over the last couple of years, has been pumping serious object iron. This is the language [she means Ada] closest of all the hybrids to an object orientation. Now with it's complete set of object qualification, it hopes to win market segments other than the requisite U.S. government. More to come."

Page 27 - A Comparison of Object-Oriented Languages by Jean Pierre LeJacq

Ada is given a fair hearing in this short overview of OOP languages. It is worth reading.

Page 59 - Java As Application Development Language by Jay Johnson

"... C is the operating systems language, Forth is great for device drivers, C++ fits in where a low-level procedural approach and a higher-level semi-object- oriented approach are needed on the same project, Smalltalk fits in where a pure object-oriented approach is appropriate, and Ada is the best language for huge embedded systems."

Tokar discusses and compares the various features of the languages, such as modularity, reusability and portability, reliability, and object-oriented programming. She concludes that Ada 95 and C++ address most of the requirements of complex software systems in different ways. "Ada 95 focuses on a top-down approach to software development with an emphasis on design and architectural issues. C++ has more emphasis on programming features that support a bottom-up development paradigm," Tokar states.

Tokar suggests that Ada is a valuable language in reducing costs by detecting error early in the development cycle. Tokar states, "Ada's compile-time checking of types, interfaces, etc, and runtime checking of ranges, etc, help keep the cost of errors low, because fewer errors make it into the integration and test stage of development - fewer still make it into the fielded systems."

Tokar concludes with the following: "Ada 95 is a reliable, standardized language well suited for developing large, complex systems that must work. It supports the principles and methodologies of software engineering including reliability, quality, and productivity. It also supports advancements in software engineering, including object-oriented programming and concurrency."

In addition to discussing Ada 95's improved capabilities, Riehle offers a new idea: that one of the most important benefits of the widespread use of C++ will be a greater acceptance of Ada. "We find that expert C++ programmers are developing the software maturity required to understand the real benefits of Ada. This is because correct design in any object-oriented language requires the same skills and attitudes that have always been required of proper design in Ada," Riehle states.

Familiar product names, such as IDE's Software Through Pictures engineering environment and Thomson's Object Ada software tools, will remain intact, Goodwin says.