Re: Ada Operating System

[James Ross <rem.jr@rem.webross.com>]

On Thu, 7 Mar 2002 10:48:56 -0500, "Marin David Condic"
<dont.bother.mcondic.auntie.spam@[acm.org> wrote:

>A bootstrap & scheduler that could execute some toy programs would provide
>something hobyists could start to play with & provide a starting point for
>something that might actually be a product that could be used commercially.
>It gets the ball rolling.

I agree that the method I proposed is not very attractive because
until you have a no kidding Ada kernel then all you have is just YALD
(Yet Another Linux Distro)

>You want to team up & go tilting at windmills? :-) I may be able to find
>some time for a side project. 

Tilting at windmills.. Hmm, now there is an expression I am not
familiar with :) 

I have been waiting to see if the AdaOS project is ever going to
release some code.  But apparently, I might be waiting a long time.   

Sure, I'd be willing to give a go at it, if you mean to just start an
alternate project to the AdaOS one?  Would it be GPL, BSD, or roll our
own?   

I have a  learning curve with Ada 95, OS design, RT design, & x86
protected mode programming... but I am a programmer! :) I did some
modifications on a simulator's sub-system that was in Ada 83 some
years ago. It ran on a DOS / 286 box in real mode. If I remember
correctly the real-time'ness of it was to replace the PC timer
interrupt vector (the 18.2 hertz)  with it it's own and then the main
loop executed certain routines depending on what cycle it was on.   I
also have substantial assembly experience, but not on Intel/PC.

>(Although I've already got a half-dozen or so
>going already & none of them making fast enough progress! :-)

I know what you mean.  I am pretty much in the same category.  Besides
my personal pet projects that seem to never get done, I also have a
day job.

My view as far as open source ( GPL'd ) projects is that many people
contribute and the burden doesn't lie on just a few people.  Also, all
development code is released daily (or weekly least), working or not.
I don't know how well interactive development is possible on the CVS
like at SourceForge, but some sort of web based interactive source
code modification / tracking / approval process would be nice.  

So what's the first step? Presumably, to get a binary executable image
out of GNAT without any OS dependency.

James Ross