Ada: progress in the West and the East

The Ada programming language has aroused considerable attention and investment since its development during the late 1970s. The language has received massive Department of Defense support, but its progress has not been smooth. Ada has also captured the interest of many in the Eastern Bloc. In spite of the presence of a number of dedicated teams, progress there has been much slower, due to much lower levels of state support, smaller numbers of researchers involved, almost nonexistent contact between Soviet and Western colleagues, and little domestic demand for the language.