7 ms·

What is the employment market like for Ada?

by Catsandkites 7y ago

jandrese 7y ago
How much do you like maintaining legacy DoD projects?
xxxpupugo 7y ago
Like not exist. Seems like NSA is the biggest employer.
imglorp 7y ago
There's some non-DOD avionics floating around that are ADA, I guess because of requirements and regulatory overlaps. http://archive.adaic.com/projects/atwork/boeing.html http://archive.adaic.com/projects/atwork/boeing.html
- non-entity 7y ago
  Interesting. I imagine most Ada jobs (gov and non-gov) would have similar requirements to embedded jobs?
- cpeterso 7y ago
  I've read that SpaceX uses C++. I'm surprised safety critical systems like SpaceX and Tesla don't use Ada. It's a mature safe language used in their industry, yet they choose C++. From SpaceX's 2013 Reddit AMA: https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1853ap/we_are_spacex_software_engineers_we_launch/ https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1853ap/we_are_spacex_...
  - fjcp 7y ago
    I don't have any experience on this field, but researching the subject some time ago I found that C/C++ is not unusual too. On the safety matter, when used in critical mission systems they usually follow a guideline or framework to ensure the reliability of the software, like MISRA C[0] for exemple. Another important point is that the development is real slow compared to other segments of software engineering and often takes several years to develop, with lots of tests and rigorous compliance with specifications. Its an interesting field, but feels hard to get into. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MISRA_C https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MISRA_C
  - Recurecur 7y ago
    From what I understand, the vast bulk of the onboard F-35 software is written in C++. One wonders how much that's contributed to the lengthy delays in software delivery... Regardless, it seems possible to eventually produce effective software using C++. ;-)
tjr 7y ago
I've seen a lot of Ada code in aerospace projects, but the trend for 15+ years seems to be to write new projects in something else (usually C or C++), and sometimes even rewrite old Ada software. In this industry, knowing Ada could still be useful, even if only to read it.
mopsi 7y ago
"Boeing flies 99% on Ada" http://archive.adaic.com/projects/atwork/boeing.html http://archive.adaic.com/projects/atwork/boeing.html So does Airbus, as far as I know. Air traffic control systems across the world also rely on Ada.
pjmlp 7y ago
Besides avionics already referred by others, there are train control systems and medical devices. Basically many industries that fall under the High Integrity Computing umbrella.

What is the employment market like for Ada?

jandrese 7y ago

How much do you like maintaining legacy DoD projects?

xxxpupugo 7y ago

Like not exist. Seems like NSA is the biggest employer.

imglorp 7y ago

There's some non-DOD avionics floating around that are ADA, I guess because of requirements and regulatory overlaps. http://archive.adaic.com/projects/atwork/boeing.html http://archive.adaic.com/projects/atwork/boeing.html

non-entity 7y ago
Interesting. I imagine most Ada jobs (gov and non-gov) would have similar requirements to embedded jobs?
cpeterso 7y ago
I've read that SpaceX uses C++. I'm surprised safety critical systems like SpaceX and Tesla don't use Ada. It's a mature safe language used in their industry, yet they choose C++. From SpaceX's 2013 Reddit AMA: https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1853ap/we_are_spacex_software_engineers_we_launch/ https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1853ap/we_are_spacex_...
- fjcp 7y ago
  I don't have any experience on this field, but researching the subject some time ago I found that C/C++ is not unusual too. On the safety matter, when used in critical mission systems they usually follow a guideline or framework to ensure the reliability of the software, like MISRA C[0] for exemple. Another important point is that the development is real slow compared to other segments of software engineering and often takes several years to develop, with lots of tests and rigorous compliance with specifications. Its an interesting field, but feels hard to get into. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MISRA_C https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MISRA_C
- Recurecur 7y ago
  From what I understand, the vast bulk of the onboard F-35 software is written in C++. One wonders how much that's contributed to the lengthy delays in software delivery... Regardless, it seems possible to eventually produce effective software using C++. ;-)

tjr 7y ago

I've seen a lot of Ada code in aerospace projects, but the trend for 15+ years seems to be to write new projects in something else (usually C or C++), and sometimes even rewrite old Ada software. In this industry, knowing Ada could still be useful, even if only to read it.

mopsi 7y ago

"Boeing flies 99% on Ada" http://archive.adaic.com/projects/atwork/boeing.html http://archive.adaic.com/projects/atwork/boeing.html So does Airbus, as far as I know. Air traffic control systems across the world also rely on Ada.

pjmlp 7y ago

Besides avionics already referred by others, there are train control systems and medical devices. Basically many industries that fall under the High Integrity Computing umbrella.