Re: some questions on installing Ada on Linux

[brbarkstrom@gmail.com]

On Friday, July 4, 2014 6:16:10 AM UTC-4, Nasser M. Abbasi wrote:
> some basic questions. Goggling these is giving me hard so
> 
> I thought I ask here.
> 
> 
> 
> What is the correct way to install Ada on Linux these days?
> 
> I am on Linux mint 17.
> 
> 
> 
> 1) Should one install GNAT on Linux by downloading tar files from
> 
> http://libre.adacore.com  (GPL 2014 edition) or use
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> 
> 
>    sudo apt-get install gnat-4.8
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> 
> 
> 2) Will the sudo installation install all the stuff listed at
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> libre.adacore.com? including GPS editor and all the other
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> packages?
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> 
> 
> 3) Which is more recent, gnat-4.8 or GPL 2014 edition?
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> 
> 
> 4) When I go to http://libre.adacore.com/download/configurations
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> is there a way to tell it to check everything for download,
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> without one having to spend 1 hr clicking on the check-box
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> for each item? I do not see "select all"
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> 
> 
> It is really confusing having Ada/GNAT in 2 different places.
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> Why not have one place to install Ada from so it is less
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> confusing to users?
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> 
> 
> --Nasser

After rereading section 3.2 (and subsections) of the Debian policy,
I will make my life as an Ada (almost entirely) developer simpler by
avoiding the Debian packaging as much as possible.  I do not have a
staff to assiduously comb through other packages to deal with the rules.
Also, I'm not trying to keep up with GNU GNAT.  I want the most stable
environment I can get.  That will become particularly important as I
start to work on an environment with concurrent processing, such as
a beowulf Linux cluster using PolyORB and the AWS.  As I said, there
are many dimensions to the decision.  I've made my choice.

Bruce B.