The Ada language, once mandatory for defense work, is alive and well. A survey by Ada Language UK Ltd, a UK not-for-profit company promoting the language, points out that it is still being used in some major commercial projects where safety and reliability are the key attributes. They include London Transport’s Jubilee Line extension, Air Traffic Control systems in 27 countries, Boeing Co’s new 777, the Inmarsat satellite, various process control systems and the Reuters news service. Ada was standardized in 1983, and received a major revision in 1995 to add object-oriented capabilities.
