FBCB2 (Blue Force Tracking ) is probably the most successful software systems that was ever developed by a DoD agency yet the DoD has totally ignored the reason for the success of FBCB2.

FBCB2 was developed using the tcl/tk interpreter language and not a compiler language program. This provided greater flexibility and ease in creating the gui. It also allowed existing programs to be used instead of reinventing the wheel. A group of Army officers directed the software development of FBCB2.

It is no over sixteen years since the start of development of FBCB2 in the late 1990’s.

Military officers now are not in direct charge in the development of new software, and contractor hired by DoD are not using tcl/tk but are instead still using the out of date compiler languages.

In the 1980’s interpreter languages could not be used for large computer systems since computers were not that powerful. FBCB2 demonstrated that with the more powerful computers of the late 1990’s it was possible to use an interpreter language and not a compiler language. Now in 2016 computers are 8 times more powerful then they were in the late 1990’s, and this is the reason why all compiler languages are now out of date.

Maybe if the DoD did a lesson learned on the development of FBCB2 there would be changes and a higher probably of success of DoD software projects.

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