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Date: 27 Aug 93 02:48:24 GMT
From: seas.gwu.edu!mfeldman@uunet.uu.net  (Michael Feldman)
Subject: Re: GNAT on NT anybody
Message-ID: <1993Aug27.024824.21373@seas.gwu.edu>
List-Id: <comp.lang.ada>

In article <1993Aug26.154913.25742@enterprise.rdd.lmsc.lockheed.com> bschiff@st
c.lockheed.com writes:
>Has anybody tried to use GNAT on NT or anything else yet? If so hows it going?
>
This question makes me wonder if anyone has yet tried to _port_ GNAT.
It's an interesting process, because GNAT is written in Ada, not C.
One could bootstrap it by using a commercial Ada compiler - NYU first
compiled GNAT with Alsys. This process was documented in an NYU post
a while ago. 

But that's no fun - it requires a commercial compiler. An all-GNU
approach is to use the gcc cross-compilation facilities. If a GNU
SPARC-to-Sun3 cross exists (just to take one example), then one compiles
GNAT on the SPARC, takes the assembly language output to the Sun-3
and re-assembles. It is alleged to be fairly easy if you're an
experienced gcc hand.

Once GNAT is ported, new versions can be built from the new sources, because
GNAT can compile itself. 

Indeed, I believe NYU is using only GNAT to compile new versions, 
using Alsys only for "occasional sanity checks" as I think one of the 
NYU guys put it. If there are any gcc cross-compilatiuon gurus out there
with a little time to tinker, I think it would be fun to start some
porting, so when the final version pops out, it will instantly be
available on a bunch of platforms. NYU is committed only to Sun
SPARC and OS/2.

Any takers?

Mike Feldman