This book presents the rationale behind the design and development of the programming language Ada. The materials incorporating corrections to its original printing by the Ada Joint Program Office (AJPO), will be essential reading for all those currently using the language as well as those considering its adoption.

This book presents the rationale behind the design and development of the programming language Ada. The materials incorporating corrections to its original printing by the Ada Joint Program Office (AJPO), will be essential reading for all those currently using the language as well as those considering its adoption.

Ada 95, the enhanced version of the Ada programming language, is now in place and has attracted much attention in the community since the International Standard ISO/IEC 8652:1995(E) for the language was approved in 1995. The Ada 95 Rationale comes in four parts. The introductory part is a general discussion of the scope and objectives of Ada 95 and its major technical features. The second part contains a more detailed step by step account of the core language. The third part consists of several annexes addressing the predefined environment and specialized application areas. Finally, the three appendices of the fourth part are devoted to the upward compatibility with Ada 83, a few changes since the drafts of the standard were made public, and a summary of requirements.

The ADA programming language was first used by the U.S. Department of Defense in the 1980s. They wanted to develop a centralized and standardized computer programming language, because there were thousands of languages in use, most of which were designed for just one system. ADA was officially standardized in 1979 and exclusively controlled by the Department of Defense, but they released the language to the public in 1987. Today, many industries use ADA, which is now defined by an international programming standards called the language reference manual (LRM).ADA is a highly advanced programming language that is designed according to the fundamental software engineering principles of efficiency, reliability, portability and maintainability. ADA provides everything from information hiding to abstract data types to concurrent-oriented programming functionality. Almost all professional ADA programmers follow a controlled validation process that eliminates poor practices and vulnerabilities that were possible through old languages like C. Ada is a highly flexible and structured object-oriented computer programming language.There are many reasons why ADA is globally popular. The syntax is very easy to learn, so users can create basic code in just a few minutes. Thus, it is easy for users to follow the program semantics and the connections between ideas, functions and language constructs. The ADA programming language is so powerful that it is mainly limited by the creativity and competency of the programmer. ADA has excellent error handling, support for distributed systems and implementation of abstract data types and package encapsulation.Programmers prefer ADA for different reasons. First, organizations will save on development costs because ADA does not require extended testing, upgrades and quality assurance checks. Instead, it was designed with embedded checks so that users can quickly and effectively detect errors that would be caught during the debugging process with C-based languages. Second, ADA is a mature, well-established language that has experienced different versions, such as ADA 83 in the 1980s, ADA 95 in the 1990s and ADA 2005 in recent years. During every new release, practical functionality and run-time efficiency are the top priorities.

The Ada programming language was created by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) nearly two decades ago to provide a general-purpose programming language for defense and commercial use, but has evolved into a niche solution for safety-critical systems, primarily in defense applications. Ada and Beyond presents an approach for the DOD to move beyond the debate over its policy that requires the use of Ada for all new software development. It describes the importance of the software engineering process and recommends to DOD mechanisms for more effective review of software development and improved collection of data on software project outcomes. The volume also analyzes the technical, empirical, and business cases for using Ada and other programming languages, makes recommendations regarding the appropriate conditions under which DOD should continue to require the use of Ada, and details activities that require funding by DOD in order for Ada to remain a viable programming language.

Ada 2005 is the latest version of the International Standard for the programming language Ada. This book describes not only the changes from Ada 95 but also the reason for the changes.

The ADA programming language was first used by the U.S. Department of Defense in the 1980s. They wanted to develop a centralized and standardized computer programming language, because there were thousands of languages in use, most of which were designed for just one system. ADA was officially standardized in 1979 and exclusively controlled by the Department of Defense, but they released the language to the public in 1987. Today, many industries use ADA, which is now defined by an international programming standards called the language reference manual (LRM).ADA is a highly advanced programming language that is designed according to the fundamental software engineering principles of efficiency, reliability, portability and maintainability. ADA provides everything from information hiding to abstract data types to concurrent-oriented programming functionality. Almost all professional ADA programmers follow a controlled validation process that eliminates poor practices and vulnerabilities that were possible through old languages like C. Ada is a highly flexible and structured object-oriented computer programming language.There are many reasons why ADA is globally popular. The syntax is very easy to learn, so users can create basic code in just a few minutes. Thus, it is easy for users to follow the program semantics and the connections between ideas, functions and language constructs. The ADA programming language is so powerful that it is mainly limited by the creativity and competency of the programmer. ADA has excellent error handling, support for distributed systems and implementation of abstract data types and package encapsulation.Programmers prefer ADA for different reasons. First, organizations will save on development costs because ADA does not require extended testing, upgrades and quality assurance checks. Instead, it was designed with embedded checks so that users can quickly and effectively detect errors that would be caught during the debugging process with C-based languages. Second, ADA is a mature, well-established language that has experienced different versions, such as ADA 83 in the 1980s, ADA 95 in the 1990s and ADA 2005 in recent years. During every new release, practical functionality and run-time efficiency are the top priorities.

Ada* is unquestionably one of the most significant programming languages to emerge in the last decade. The manner of its inception and support by the US Department of Defense (DoD) ensures that it will be used extensively for the indefinite future in programming large and complex systems. The growing availability of compilers means that many organisations are already committed to using the language for sizable and significant applications. As a perhaps inevitable result of its design goals, Ada is a "large" language. It has Pascal-like control and type constructs; a mechanism for exception handling; a package structure for information hiding, decomposition and separate compilation; facilities for low-level programming; and a tasking model of concurrency. It is perhaps this last area that has generated most debate, criticism and disagreement. The purpose of this book is to review the tasking model in the light of the extensive analysis and comment which has appeared in the literature. The review is necessarily wide-ranging, including discussion of - Ada as a general purpose concurrent programming language, - Ada as a language for embedded and distributed systems, - implementation issues, with particular reference to distributed systems, - formal semantics, specification and verification, - proposed language modifications. By consolidating this discussion within the confines of a single review, potential users of the tasking facility are enabled to familiarise themselves with all the factors which may impinge upon the performance, reliability and correctness of their software. The book also provides a focus for any debate on modifications to the Ada language, or developments from it.

Ada 2012 is the latest version of the international standard for the programming language Ada. It is designated ISO/IEC 8652:2012 (E) and is a new edition replacing the 2005 version. The primary goals for the new version were to further enhance its capabilities particularly in those areas where its reliability and predictability are of great value. Many important new features have been included such as those defining dynamic contracts and for handling multiprocessors and are integrated within the existing language framework in an elegant and coherent manner. The Ada 2012 Rationale describes not only the changes from Ada 2005 but also the reason for the changes. It starts with an introduction providing a general overview and this is followed by seven chapters focusing on contracts and aspects; extended expressions; structure and visibility; tasking and real time; iterators and pools; predefined library and containers. The book concludes with an epilogue largely concerned with compatibility issues.