system calls in ada

system calls in ada

[PMB104]

does anyone out there know how to make an operating system call form inside an
ada program.  i'm using ada on the vm/cms system and need to make calls for vm
commands while the software is running. direct any respones to pmb104@psuvm.psu
.edu. thanks.

Re: system calls in ada

[Michael Feldman]

In article <90269.095626PMB104@psuvm.psu.edu> PMB104@psuvm.psu.edu writes:
>does anyone out there know how to make an operating system call form inside an
>ada program.  i'm using ada on the vm/cms system and need to make calls for vm
>commands while the software is running. direct any respones to pmb104@psuvm.psu
>.edu. thanks.

From the form of your user id, I am guessing that you are a student or maybe
a teacher at Penn State. I am posting this to the group for the benefit of
other teachers and students out there in netland.

Things like system calls are necessarily implementation-dependent in Ada
(how could the standard predict system calls in a system-independent way?).
These system dependencies are always (at least in my experience with _many_
Ada compilers) pretty well documented _somewhere_. Generally it's in a thick
looseleaf binder, one copy of which is delivered with the compiler.

In your particular case, you didn't mention whether Penn State is running
the IBM/TeleSoft system or the Alsys one. In either case, somebody there
is going to have to track down that binder. Start with the system manager
for the machine the compiler's installed on, since the book would've
come in with the tape and may have been filed with it. Or maybe there is
a technical support group at the datacenter that deals with users. But
that book is there somewhere.

At my institution these notebooks are kept in the tech support offices in
our two computer centers. They are thick, expensive to duplicate, and
(usually) unnecessary for typical student projects. But it sounds like you
are going beyond the straightforward "out of the book" Ada, so you'll
have to find that binder. Or maybe you'll get lucky and a TeleSoft or
Alsys guy will read our notes and contact you. Good luck!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prof. Michael Feldman
Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
The George Washington University
Washington, DC 20052
202-994-5253
mfeldman@seas.gwu.edu
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Re: system calls in ada

[Edward Falis]

Not knowing the answer off the top of my head, I could suggest another
alternative to  search for the manuals.  If you have the Alsys compiler
give tech support a call at (617) 270-0030. - Ed Falis, Alsys