* Ada FAQ: comp.lang.ada (part 1 of 2)
@ 1994-09-09 19:37 Magnus Kempe
0 siblings, 0 replies; 2+ messages in thread
From: Magnus Kempe @ 1994-09-09 19:37 UTC (permalink / raw)
Archive-name: Ada/comp-lang-ada/part1
Posting-Frequency: monthly
Last-modified: 9 September 1994
Last-posted: 1 June 1994
COMP.LANG.ADA
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)
This is part 1 of a 2-part posting. Part 2 begins with question 6.2.
It should be the next posting in this thread.
Introduction
Ada is an advanced, modern programming language, designed and
standardized to support widely recognized software engineering
principles: reliability, portability, modularity, reusability,
programming as a human activity, efficiency, maintainability,
information hiding, abstract data types, concurrent programming,
object-oriented programming, etc. All Ada compilers must pass a
validation test.
Ada is defined by an international standard (the language reference
manual, or LRM). Ada is in use around the world (not just in the USA).
NOTE: This document now has a home on the Ada WWW Server, in hypertext
format (URL http://lglwww.epfl.ch/Ada/FAQ/comp-lang-ada.html).
Maintenance
For the past year or so, the comp.lang.ada FAQ has been maintained by
the Ada Information Clearinghouse (cla-faq@ajpo.sei.cmu.edu); prior to
that, it was maintained on an individual volunteer basis.
This FAQ is now again maintained on an individual volunteer basis, by
Magnus Kempe (Magnus.Kempe@di.epfl.ch). [Note: This is done as a
hobby, not in my capacity as an employee at the Swiss Federal
Institute of Technology. --MK]
The AdaIC has announced it will maintain its own FAQ pointing to Ada
items available on the Ada Joint Program Office's host. In the
meantime, this FAQ still contains pointers to AJPO and AdaIC material.
_________________________________________________________________
Report of a product, service, or event, etc., does not constitute an
endorsement. Opinions (if any) expressed are those of the submitters
and/or maintainer.
_________________________________________________________________
Table of Contents:
* 1: Recent changes to the FAQ
* 2: Information about this document
* 3: Elementary questions
+ 3.1: What is Ada?
o 3.1.1: Where can I get other information on Ada?
+ 3.2: I have seen the language name capitalized as ADA, as
well as Ada. Which is right?
+ 3.3: What is Ada 9X?
o 3.3.1: Are there already Ada 9X books?
+ 3.4: Is Ada a registered trademark (TM) of the US government?
+ 3.5: Where can I find an electronic version of the Ada
language reference manual (LRM)?
+ 3.6: Is Ada used in commercial applications?
+ 3.7: I think Ada could really benefit from having
[choose_a_feature] from [choose_a_language] ...
+ 3.8: I just saw a very anti-Ada post that I think is
definitely wrong. Why didn't anybody post a response to it?
Should I?
+ 3.9: I very strongly agree/disagree with the Ada mandate (or
a post dealing with it). Why doesn't anyone praise/criticize
it? Should I?
* 4: Compilers
+ 4.1: Is there a list of validated Ada compilers?
+ 4.2: Is there a public-domain/free/shareware Ada compiler or
interpreter?
o 4.2.1: Ada/Ed -- An Interpreter for Ada 83
o 4.2.2: GW-Ada/Ed -- a souped-up version of Ada/Ed for
386/486 DOS and Macintosh machines
o 4.2.3: GNAT, The GNU Ada Translator -- An Ada 9X
Compiler
+ 4.3: What cheap (<500$) Ada compilers are available?
+ 4.4: Is there an Ada compiler for machine X/operating system
Y?
o 4.4.1: on the Macintosh?
o 4.4.2: native for OS/2?
+ 4.5: How can I contact Ada compiler vendor?
* 5: Organizations that deal with Ada and Ada issues
+ 5.1: Ada Joint Program Office (AJPO)
+ 5.2: Ada Information Clearinghouse (AdaIC)
+ 5.3: ACM/SIGAda
+ 5.4: ISO WG 9
* 6: Tools
+ 6.1: Is there an Ada-mode for Emacs?
+ 6.2: Are there versions of lex and yacc that generate Ada
code?
+ 6.3: Where can I get a yacc/ayacc grammar to read Ada code?
+ 6.4: What is Anna, and where can I get it?
+ 6.5: What is DRAGOON, and where can I get it?
+ 6.6: Where can I get language translators? And should I?
+ 6.7: What is ASIS?
o 6.7.1: How can I get hold of ASIS?
o 6.7.2: How can I find out more about ASIS? and Can I
take part in its development?
* 7: Bindings
+ 7.1: General
+ 7.2: POSIX
o 7.2.1: What is the status of the POSIX/Ada work?
o 7.2.2: How can I get a copy of POSIX/Ada?
o 7.2.3: Is POSIX/Ada available via FTP?
+ 7.3: X Window System
* 8: Is there a list of good Ada books?
* 9: Resources
+ 9.1: What FTP sites exist that contain information about Ada
or Ada source?
+ 9.2: I don't have FTP service on the host where I have an
account. Is there any way I can access FTP sites?
o 9.2.1: The AJPO host also has a special e-mail service
for FTP.
+ 9.3: Reuse
o 9.3.1: Are there any free, public-domain, or other
general-access software repositories that contain Ada
source code and information on reuse?
o 9.3.2: Is there a database of reusable Ada software
components?
+ 9.4: Where can I get Ada benchmark programs?
+ 9.5: Are there any dial-up BBS systems that deal with Ada?
* 10: Credits
* 11: Copying this FAQ
_________________________________________________________________
1: Changes in this file since last posted
* 8/31: What is Ada, and where can one get more information?
* 8/30: Ada 9X books.
* 8/18: added an explicit copyright statement.
* 8/17: love/hatred of the Ada mandate.
* 8/16: where are yacc grammars for Ada?
* 8/16: where are electronic versions of the Ada LRM?
* 8/15: made into a hypertext version to browse on WWW.
* 8/15: is there an Ada compiler for machine X/operating system Y?
* 8/15: pointer to list of reusable components.
* 8/12: references to network resources now follow the URL
convention.
* 8/12: completely revised the structure.
* july: new maintainer.
What's important and missing:
* description of the ACVC.
* list of regular Ada-related events.
_________________________________________________________________
2: Information about this document
This file has been posted to comp.lang.ada (and will be posted again
to news.answers, and comp.answers, as soon as it is approved in its
new format and with its new maintainer).
This document has a home on the Ada WWW Server, in hypertext format
(URL http://lglwww.epfl.ch/Ada/FAQ/comp-lang-ada.html).
A previous version of the FAQ is still available for downloading via
anonymous FTP from the AJPO host (ajpo.sei.cmu.edu), in
ftp://ajpo.sei.cmu.edu/public/comp-lang-ada/ (files cla-faq1 and
cla-faq2).
(When posted again in *.answers, it will also be available on
rtfm.mit.edu, which archives FAQ files posted to news.answers; for the
old version, see
ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet-by-group/news.answers/comp-lang-ada/.)
For notes on FTP, or the lack thereof, see question 9.2.1, describing
how to use FTP by e-mail.
Magnus Kempe maintains this document; it's not a job, it's a hobby.
Feedback about it is to be sent via e-mail to magnus.kempe@di.epfl.ch.
Thanks.
In all cases, the most up-to-date version of the FAQ is the version
maintained on the Ada WWW Server. Please excuse any formatting
inconsistencies in the posted version of this document, as it is
automatically generated from the on-line version.
_________________________________________________________________
3: Elementary questions
3.1: What is Ada?
Ada is an advanced, modern programming language, designed and
standardized to support widely recognized software engineering
principles: reliability, portability, modularity, reusability,
programming as a human activity, efficiency, maintainability,
information hiding, abstract data types, concurrent programming,
object-oriented programming, et caetera. All Ada compilers must pass a
validation test.
3.1.1: Where can I get other information on Ada?
If you have questions which this FAQ does not answer, you may contact
the Ada Information Clearinghouse (see below, question 5.2), use the
Usenet newsgroup comp.lang.ada, read the Ada Yearbook published by Ada
UK, or the Ada Resources published by the ACM.
To find out more, you may also use the Ada WWW Server, URL
http://lglwww.epfl.ch/Ada/, which has a companion FAQ:
Ada/ada-www-server (also regularly posted to comp.lang.ada).
I encourage you to check out the changes listed early in the document
each time this FAQ is posted.
3.2: I have seen the language name capitalized as ADA, as well as Ada. Which
is right?
The correct capitalization is Ada. It's a proper name, for Ada
Lovelace (1815-1852), who is regarded to be the world's first
programmer.
Using all-caps usually implies an acronym, and this forum is not
devoted to the American Dental Association :-).
3.3: What is Ada 9X?
Ada 9X refers to the revised version of Ada. (Ada 83 is the current
ANSI/ISO standard.) The Ada 9X Project Office is responsible for the
revision, and is working closely with the international community to
ensure Ada retains its ISO status. The Ada 9X process is very open.
Volunteer Reviewers are welcome and should contact
ada9x-vr@ajpo.sei.cmu.edu . Many documents are available for
downloading from the ftp://ajpo.sei.cmu.edu/public/ada9x/ directory on
the AJPO host (see question 9.1, FTP sites for more information.) For
further information, contact the Ada 9X Project Office, PL/VTES,
Kirtland AFB, New Mexico 87117-5776.
Ada 9X includes four major areas of enhancement: support for
object-oriented programming, data-oriented synchronization,
programming-in-the-large, and realtime systems.
A great deal of attention is being focused on transitioning to Ada 9X.
The validation test suite will be available early (in draft form prior
to ANSI/ISO approval with official release 3 months after ANSI/ISO
approval). However, for a two-year period vendors will be able to
focus on enhanced areas of the language that their customer base wants
first; i.e., the first validation test suite will be modularly
constructed. Vendors are also being encouraged to release
beta-versions of their Ada 9X implementations prior to validation.
There is also a (still partial) GNU Ada 9X compilation system (GNAT)
available since late 1993. (See question 4.2.3.)
3.3.1: Are there already Ada 9X books?
The Ada 9X Rationale explains how to use the new mechanisms of the
language. The new Reference Manual is THE reference, of course. The
Annotated Reference Manual provides detailed explanations of the rules
of the language (good for implementors and language lawyers). All
three are available by FTP from the AJPO host, in
ftp://ajpo.sei.cmu.edu/public/ada9x/rm9x (v5.0).
There are also a few commercial books which have sections on Ada 9X or
have integrated the revised definition of the language into their
presentation:
* J. Barnes. Programming in Ada: Plus an Overview of Ada 9X.
Addison Wesley. Price $43.25. ISBN 0-201-62407-9.
* G. Booch and D. Bryan. Software Engineering with Ada.
3rd ed., Benjamin/Cummings, 1994. ISBN 0-8053-0608-0.
* Naiditch. Rendez-vous with Ada 9X.
2nd ed., John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Price $44.95. ISBN 0-471-01276-9.
* J. Skansholm. Ada From the Beginning.
2nd ed., Addison-Wesley
3.4: Is Ada a registered trademark (TM) of the US government?
No, but it used to be; there is a "certification mark", though, which
is to be used only for validated compilers.
Prior to November 30, 1987, the name "Ada" was a registered trademark.
In the December 1987 issue of the Ada Information Clearinghouse
Newsletter, Ms. Virginia Castor, then Director of the Ada Joint
Program Office (AJPO), announced that the Department of Defense would
thereafter rely on a certification mark instead of a trademark.
(The certification mark is a Pentagon-shaped symbol with a "Validated
Ada" message, and can be seen on the documentation of validated Ada
compilers.)
The text of the 1987 AJPO announcement is available as an AdaIC file
on the AJPO host, in
ftp://ajpo.sei.cmu.edu/public/policy/trademrk.txt.
3.5: Where can I find an electronic version of the Ada reference manual (LRM)?
The Ada 83 LRM is available in plain ASCII files in
ftp://ajpo.sei.cmu.edu/public/lrm/.
The Ada 9X Draft RM is available in plain ASCII and Postscript files
in ftp://ajpo.sei.cmu.edu/public/ada9x/rm9x/.
Both Ada 83 and Ada 9X reference manuals exist in hypertext format,
accessible through the Ada WWW Server (see the companion FAQ:
Ada/ada-www-server).
3.6: Is Ada used in commercial applications?
Yes. Ada is used in e.g. airplanes, air traffic control systems,
financial systems, telecommunications systems, medical devices.
* The AJPO host on the Internet contains a report of Commercial Ada
Users Working Group (CAUWG) of the Association for Computing
Machinery's Special Interest Group on Ada (ACM SIGAda). Dated June
1993, the report is a survey of applications from around the world
that are written in Ada. It is in
ftp://ajpo.sei.cmu.edu/public/document/cauwg.txt.
* The Ada Information Clearinghouse maintains a list of Ada projects
that have submitted information for the AdaIC's Ada Usage
Database. It is only a sample of Ada projects, but it includes
both commercial and government-related projects. For details on
contacting the AdaIC, see question 5.2.
* On the AJPO host, the ftp://ajpo.sei.cmu.edu/public/usage/
directory contains a summary of the Ada Usage Database and a
number of individual project descriptions that may be of interest.
3.7: I think Ada could really benefit from having [choose_a_feature] from
[choose_a_language],
or:
I think Ada is clearly [inferior_or_superior] to [choose_a_language] because
it has [choose_a_feature].
Such posts almost always result in religious language wars and only
waste bandwidth. PLEASE refrain from such posts unless you have a
specific question about Ada. For example, the following kind of
question *is* appropriate: "In [choose_a_language] I can do
[choose_a_feature]. How would I go about doing this in Ada?"
3.8: I just saw a very anti-Ada post that I think is definitely wrong. Why
didn't anybody post a response to it? Should I?
Ada apparently gets more than its share of attacks, probably due to
its unique origins, and the fact that it is a requirement for some
government software. For the same reasons as in the preceding
question, PLEASE refrain from posting a response to these, unless you
feel there is something of *significant* importance that you can
contribute. Posts containing factual corrections are OK, but posts
like "Well, I've used Ada on many projects, and all have been very
successful" accomplish nothing. If you are really dead-set on driving
your point home to the poster, you can do it via e-mail.
3.9: I very strongly agree/disagree with the Ada mandate. Should I
praise/criticize it?
First, it is a fact that there is an Ada standard, on which the DoD
is aligned (the so-called "mandate"). No shouting match will change
that. Second, don't believe rumors (about the mandate, its withdrawal,
its being ignored, etc.) you read on comp.lang.ada, unless you have
reasons to (i.e. you know the author is trustworthy, or the author
provides references which you can check, and which you have checked
yourself at least a couple of times.)
What about discussing the Ada mandate?
Praise of the mandate is usually based on the ideas that a) it is
better to have one language than 1500 obscure, proprietary languages
for all DoD-owned non-COTS systems, and b) Ada is a good software
engineering language, especially when it comes to maintenance.
Criticism of the mandate is usually based on the ideas that a) a good
language should not need a mandate (which ignores the fact that before
standardizing on Ada the DoD had to maintain for 20+ years software
written in 1500 obscure, proprietary programming languages--which is
hard and costly), and b) the mandate is mostly ineffective, since
either it is ignored, or too many waivers are granted, or none is
necessary (a policy issue which will in all likelihood NOT be resolved
by discussions on comp.lang.ada).
Finally, whenever you see a message criticizing the Ada language (or
Ada companies) for losing completely both in the market and under the
mandate, check the facts for yourself. For the most part, the Ada
mandate is enforced; in many critical, commercial systems, Ada is the
language of choice and its adoption a success; in the slowly-changing
competition of programming languages, FORTRAN and COBOL dominate, and
Smalltalk, C++, Eiffel, and Ada are all slowly growing. Ada is
(finally, and we hope seriously) penetrating academia. There is a GNU
Ada 9X compiler available. And remember that Ada 9X will be the first
standardized object-oriented programming language.
If you have some new, additional facts, with approriate references so
that everyone can check for himself, then posting on a mandate-related
issue is OK. If NOT, then refrain from posting. PLEASE, if someone
starts a non-factual discussion, the best policy is simply to ignore
it or, if you have to, you may reply by private e-mail. Try to hold
the same standards as you would in discussing problem-solving with the
programming language itself, and put your information in a way which
encourages positive action; criticism of inefficiency and/or
ineptitude is fine, as long as it is honest, documented, and polite.
_________________________________________________________________
4: Compilers
4.1: Is there a list of validated Ada compilers?
Yes, indeed, there is. The latest list can be retrieved by anonymous
FTP. It is in ftp://ajpo.sei.cmu.edu/public/compiler/val-comp.txt. If
the list is updated during the month, the previous one is replaced.
4.2: Is there a public-domain/free/shareware Ada compiler or interpreter?
There ARE free Ada systems, and there is a choice: Ada/Ed for Ada 83,
and GNAT for Ada 9X.
(Strictly speaking these are NOT "public-domain". They are
"free"--under copyright conditions known as "GNU Copyleft". In short:
there is no warranty, and you are allowed to copy, modify, and
distribute them; but you can't charge anyone for the software itself,
and if the software (necessarily including source code) is further
distributed, it must be done under the same conditions--i.e. copyable,
with sources and modifications, available to everyone else, etc.)
4.2.1: Ada/Ed -- An Interpreter for Ada 83
Ada/Ed is available for PCs, Unix-based machines, Amiga, and Atari
systems. The Ada/Ed interpreter for Ada 83 is available from the New
York University host, in ftp://cs.nyu.edu/pub/adaed/ (Internet address
128.122.140.24). There you will find a version for UNIX-based
machines, and a version for 386/486 DOS machines.
Ada/Ed is a translator-interpreter for Ada. It is intended as a
teaching tool, and does not have the capacity, performance, or
robustness of commercial Ada compilers. Ada/Ed was developed at New
York University, as part of a long-range project in language
definition and software prototyping. The project produced the first
validated translator for Ada, in the form of an executable definition
of the language written in SETL. The SETL system served as design
document and prototype for the C version.
Ada/Ed was last validated under version 1.7 of the ACVC tests.
Therefore it is not currently a validated Ada system, and users can
expect to find small discrepancies between Ada/Ed and currently
validated compilers.
Apart from the 100-odd tests of ACVC 1.11 that Ada/Ed currently fails,
the major deficiency of the system is that, being an interpreter, it
does not implement most representation clauses, and thus does not
support systems programming close to the machine level.
4.2.2: GW-Ada/Ed -- a souped-up version of Ada/Ed for 386/486 DOS and
Macintosh machines
GW-Ada/Ed is available from the PAL, by anonymous FTP; it is in
ftp://wuarchive.wustl.edu/pub/languages/ada/compiler/adaed/gwu/. The
files are located in subdirectories "dos" and "mac".
This project was sponsored by The George Washington University, and in
part by the United States Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA).
This distribution contains the executables for GWAda, which consists
of the NYU Ada/Ed translator/interpreter system together with an
integrated editor developed by Prof. Arthur Vargas Lopes of the
Pontifical University at Porto Alegre, Brazil. Lopes began his work on
GWAda while he was a doctoral student at The George Washington
University. There is also in the DOS version a very nice extended
runtime facility, with interesting kinds of source tracing.
GWAda is being freely distributed at no charge. In the near future the
developers will make the source code available under the GNU General
Public License. Source code is not being provided because the system
is still in the developmental stage. Source code for Ada/Ed itself is
available from NYU (see above) and from PAL (see questions 9.1 and
9.3).
Note that under DOS you do not have to use the GWAda integrated
environment, but can execute the various parts of NYU Ada/Ed from the
DOS command line, as described in the NYU instructions.
System requirements:
* IBM PC Compatible, 386 or 486, running MS-DOS or PC-DOS, with at
least 3.6 MB available extended memory, and at least 5 MB free
hard-disk space.
* Mac with a 68030 or 68040 processor, System 7, with at least 4 MB
of RAM, and around 10 MB free hard-disk space.
4.2.3: GNAT, The GNU Ada Translator -- An Ada 9X Compiler
GNAT is available from the New York University host, in
ftp://cs.nyu.edu/pub/gnat/. There are versions for UNIX-based
systems, and versions for DOS and 386/486 OS/2 machines. Usually the
latest version is made available for both Sun SPARC (SunOS 4.1) and
OS/2 machines.
It is also available in the Public Ada Library (PAL -- formerly the
Ada Software Repository), under
ftp://wuarchive.wustl.edu/pub/languages/ada/compiler/gnat/ (Internet
address: 128.252.135.4). A mirror site of the PAL also carries GNAT:
ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/languages/ada/compiler/gnat/.
You can also get a copy from the AdaIC Bulletin Board. But this is a
dial-up operation (703/614-0215), and since the files sizes are large,
connect times may be lengthy. The bulletin board is best used as a
back-up source for those who don't have Internet/FTP access.
General
(excerpted from "Free Source Code for GNAT 9X Compiler to be Available
on Internet", by Robert Dewar and Edmond Schonberg, New York
University, Ada Information Clearinghouse Newsletter August 1993)
The Computer Science Department of the Courant Institute of
Mathematical Sciences at New York University received a contract from
the Ada 9X Project Office, under the direction of Christine M.
Anderson, to develop a GNU/Ada system. The work is being cosponsored
by ARPA and the Ada Joint Program Office.
The final delivery will be a full Ada 9X implementation with as much
of the core language and annexes implemented as possible. At final
delivery, the developers expect to demonstrate to the Ada community a
reasonably complete and solid implementation of the core language, and
at least part of the language annexes. This delivery will include full
sources, and executables for at least the Sun Sparc and PC on OS/2.
(On PCs, GNAT will need a full 32-bit environment with several
megabytes of memory.)
There are a number of official GNAT e-mail addresses:
gnat-request@cs.nyu.edu
Send a message to this address to be placed on our external
mailing list. We send out progress reports, technical reports,
digests of technical comments and other information.
gnatchat@cs.nyu.edu
Send messages to this address for our general consideration.
Where appropriate, we will digest these comments for
redistribution to the external mailing list -- unless you
specifically request that they be considered private.
gnat-report@cs.nyu.edu
This address is to be used specifically to report problems with
the currently available version of the GNAT system. Please be
as specific as possible in reporting problems. Do not report
missing features for now!
OS/2 Version
The executables and sources for the OS/2 version of GNAT are split and
compressed into two files, each of which can fit on one 3.5-inch
high-density diskette. Although it is possible to install GNAT on an
OS/2 machine on FAT (MS-DOS-compatble) partition, such an installation
will not be fully functional. In fact, GNAT does not support
installations on FAT partitions. You will need about 8.5 MB of free
disk space after you have copied the appropriate files to your hard
drive. About half of this amount is taken up by the source code.
In case you want to modify and re-compile GNAT, you will need about 24
MB of free disk space after you have installed GNAT for OS/2 and
copied the necessary source files to your hard drive.
Ports
Several ports of GNAT have been produced by volunteers for a number of
additional platforms (e.g. SPARCStations Solaris 2.1, i386/i486 Linux,
DECstation (MIPS chip) Ultrix, DOS, SCO Unix). Users should allow time
for the volunteers to catch up with the new releases.
Note: The DOS version requires installation of DJGPP, DJ Delorie's
port of GCC, GNU loader (ld), and GNU assembler (as) to DOS. DJGPP
also includes the GO32 memory extender, which works with both VCPI and
DPMI standards, which allows working in a Microsoft Window. There is
information on DJGPP stored together with GNAT.
4.3: What cheap (<500$) Ada compilers are available?
What follows is absolutely *not* exhaustive, but inexpensive
compilers are available, and some vendors offer educational discounts
or free programs for educational sites. Among those offering
educational discounts are Alsys, DDC-I, Encore, Harris, IBM, Irvine
Compiler, Meridian, PSS, Rational, R.R., Tartan, and TeleSoft (now
part of Alsys).
Meridian: Among choices for inexpensive compilers, Meridian offers one
for $99. (Meridian Software Systems (A Verdix Company), 205 Van Buren
Street - 4th floor, Herndon, VA 22070; contact: Gary Newman,
800/653-2522, 703/318-5810.)
Alsys (US pricing only): FirstAda for 286 DOS is $595. It will run on
286 and higher, and will generate applications for any x86 PC. Comes
with a full toolset. Alsys does run specials on it periodically. Call
Pat Michalowski at 619/457-2700 for more info.
Alsys offers the same compilation system for $144 to qualified
educational institutions under its LEAP program. The program also
offers substantial educational discounts on other Alsys products, as
well as site license arrangements. Contact Kathy Ruggiero at
617/270-0030 for more info.
Rational: Rational provides free software (Rational Apex) to
accredited educational institutions, including military academies, in
the United States and Canada. This is under its Software Engineering
for Educational Development (SEED) program. To receive information on
the program, send your contact information via e-mail to
SEED_Info@Rational.com.
R.R. Software: R.R.'s Janus/Ada Professional Development System --
60386 MS-DOS -- regularly goes for $500. (R.R. Software, P.O. Box
1512, Madison, WI 53701; contact: Randall Brukardt 608/251-3133;
e-mail: 4269344@mcimail.com.)
4.4: Is there an Ada compiler for machine X/operating system Y?
There are hundreds of Ada compilers available on the market. Some
answers for Frequently Asked Compilers are listed below. If your
specific question is not answered here, check the comprehensive list
of validated Ada compilers.
4.4.1: For the Macintosh
Meridian sells a compiler with a Toolbox binding and MPW 3.2. It has
one limitation for large programs: Packages which contain more than
32K bytes of data will compile, but not link. It works with System 7,
and has been reported both as working and not-working on PowerPCs
(maybe due to a problem with Inits). The interpreter GW/Ada (see
question 4.2.2) works on all Mac architectures.
4.4.2: Native compilers for OS/2
There are several good fully validated compilers. E.g. Alsys has one,
and has a partial Ada 9X compiler for Windows; RR Software specializes
in the Intel x86 architecture (AETECH repackages and distributes their
compilers as IntegrAda) -- and they advertise a partial Ada 9X
compiler. GNAT is available for OS/2.
4.5: How can I contact Ada compiler vendors?
Note: The AdaIC's Validated Compiler List now contains--at the end of
the list--addresses, including e-mail, for compiler-vendor points of
contact. Here is a non-exhaustive list (possibly out-of-date, for the
moment).
Alsys sales (e-mail contact only): tne@world.std.com (Tom Erickson)
Alsys sales (voice) Pat Michalowski
Tel: 619/270-0030
Convex questions: allison@convex.com (Brian Allison)
Tel: 214/497-4346
Cray questions: det@cray.com (Dave Thersleff)
Tel: 612/683-5701
Cray sales: svc@cray.com (Sylvia Crain)
Tel: 505/988-2468
Harris questions: jeffh@ssd.csd.harris.com (Jeff Hollensen)
IBM/Ada questions: malcho@torolab6.vnet.ibm.com (Don Malcho)
Tel: 416/448-3727
Intermetrics questions: ryer@inmet.inmet.com (Mike Ryer)
Irvine Compiler Corp (ICC) questions: info@irvine.com
Tartan questions: englert@tartan.com (Susan Englert)
Tel: 412/856-3600
TeleSoft questions: adasupport@telesoft.com
(Note that TeleSoft is now part of Alsys.)
Tel: 619/457-2700
TeleSoft Sales: marketng@telesoft.com (Philippe Collard)
Tel: 619/457-2700
Verdix questions: drew@verdix.com (Drew Johnson)
Verdix sales information: moskow@verdix.com (Paul Moskowitz)
(Note that Verdix has now merged of Rational.)
Tel: 800-BUY-VADS
_________________________________________________________________
5: Organizations that deal with Ada and Ada issues
5.1: Ada Joint Program Office (AJPO)
The AJPO is part of the Department of Defense; it facilitates the
implementation of the DoD's Software Initiative (Ada) throughout the
Services, and maintains the integrity of the Ada language. (The AJPO
sponsors the AdaIC.)
The address is:
Ada Joint Program Office
Defense Information Systems Agency
701 South Courthouse Road
Arlington, VA 22204-2199
703/604-4619 (autovon 664-4619)
fax: 703/685-7019
The current Director and Deputy Directors are:
Acting Director
Donald Reifer
Air Force Liaison
Maj M. Dirk Rogers (rogersd@ajpo.sei.cmu.edu)
Navy Deputy Liaison
Joan McGarity (mcgarity@ajpo.sei.cmu.edu
Army Deputy Liaison
MAJ Charlotte Lee (leec@ajpo.sei.cmu.edu)
DISA Liaison
David Basel (baseld@ajpo.sei.cmu.edu)
5.2: Ada Information Clearinghouse (AdaIC)
The Ada Information Clearinghouse (AdaIC) provides a full spectrum of
information on Ada to anyone interested in finding out more about the
programming language. IIT Research Institute operates the AdaIC for
the Ada Joint Program Office (AJPO).
The address is:
Ada Information Clearinghouse
P.O. Box 46593
Washington, DC 20050-6593
1-800-AdaIC-11 (232-4211), 703/685-1477; fax: 703/685-7019
The AdaIC publishes a quarterly newsletter, which contains current
news, Ada conference reports, announcements from the AJPO Director,
and articles on projects using Ada. If you would like to receive a
copy of the AdaIC newsletter, please call and request a subscription.
There's no charge. The AdaIC also regularly updates and publishes more
than 70 separate information flyers. Flyer topics include:
* Ada Validated Compilers
* Ada News and Current Events
* Ada Usage
* Ada 9X Project
* On-line sources of Ada Information
* Ada Bibliographies
* Ada Compiler Validation and Evaluation
* Resources for Ada Education and Training
* Ada Software, Tools, and Interfaces
* Ada Regulations, Policies, and Mandates
* Ada Historical Information
One of the most commonly requested flyers is the Validated Compilers
List. This list, which is updated monthly, contains Ada compilers that
have been validated by the AJPO. For the most current information on
validated Ada compilers, contact the AdaIC.
Practically all AdaIC flyers are available via anonymous FTP from the
AJPO host, in ftp://ajpo.sei.cmu.edu/public/.
5.3: Association of Computing Machinery's Special Interest Group on Ada (ACM
SIGAda)
SIGAda's bimonthly publication is Ada Letters.
Price for non-members: $55 (Annual ACM membership dues, $82; students,
$25).
Otherwise it costs $20 per year to ACM members; $10 per year to ACM
student members.
The address is:
Association for Computing Machinery, Inc.
1515 Broadway
New York, NY 10036
212/869-7440
SIGAda also has a number of committees and working groups on a variety
of topics.
5.4: ISO Working Group 9 (ISO-IEC/JTC1/SC22/WG9, WG9 for short)
This is a working group that deals with Ada within the International
Standardization Organization. Within WG-9, are several Rapporteur
(rap) groups:
* ARG: Ada Rapporteur Group -- Comments and Interpretations
* CRG: Character Rapporteur Group -- International Character Sets
* IRG: Information Systems Rapporteur Group -- Decimal Arithmetic
* NRG: Numerics Rapporteur Group -- NUMWG packages
* RRG: Real-Time Rapporteur Group -- ExTRA
* SRG: SQL Interfaces Rapporteur Group -- SAMeDL
* URG: Uniformity Rapporteur Group -- Portability through Uniformity
* XRG: Ada 9X Rapporteur Group
Ada Rapporteur Group (ARG):
This is the group responsible for evaluating comments on the
Ada standard. Officially, the group is only developing a
technical report addressing comments and questions concerning
the ISO standard for Ada. (Arcane ISO rules prevent the ARG or
WG9 from issuing "official" interpretations of a standard.) In
practice, when a response to a comment is approved by WG9, the
response is taken into account by the Ada Validation Office and
affects the test suite. The documents containing comments on
the standard and ARG responses are called "Ada Commentaries"
and are given numbers of the form AI-ddddd/vv, where vv is a
version number.
Comments and questions about the Ada standard should be sent to
ada-comment@ajpo.sei.cmu.edu, using the format specified in the
Ada standard. You can receive e-mail notification of an update
to a commentary (optionally including the text of the
commentary) by sending a request to
ada-comment@ajpo.sei.cmu.edu. Commentaries are generally
updated only a few times each year. The text of all
commentaries is available by anonymous FTP from the AJPO site
in the account public/ada-comment. A detailed discussion of ARG
procedures and the format of commentaries can be found in the
ada-comment account in the file arg-procedures.doc. A
reformatted copy of the Reference Manual that includes
WG9-approved commentaries is available from Karl Nyberg
(karl@grebyn.com).
Uniformity Rapporteur Group (URG)
Responsible for evaluating Uniformity Issues (UIs). UIs
specify/recommend specific choices for the compiler
implementor, where the language permits implementation freedom.
The "canonical example" is UI-8, on integer types. This UI
recommends that integers be at least 32 bits, and provides
names for the other predefined integer types. The goal of the
URG and the UI's is to further Ada portability by providing
uniform implementations of implementation-dependent features
commonly used by Ada applications.
_________________________________________________________________
6: Tools
6.1: Is there an Ada-mode for Emacs?
There are, in fact, 4 Ada modes for Emacs!
* the most recent one, available by FTP, is in
ftp://cs.nyu.edu/pub/gnat/emacs-ada-mode.
This is still work under development but it is already quite
usable. The main features are:
+ TAB ---> indent (almost always correctly)
+ compile and parse the errors (with the cursor at the right
line AND column)
+ highlight keywords and comments
+ create skeletons for all Ada constructs (both 83 and 9x)
+ goto next (previous) subprogram/package/task
+ goto beginning of syntactic construct
+ name completion (when it is a subprogram defined in the file)
+ untabify, remove trailing spaces automatically before saving
+ C-c TAB ---> format subprogram specs in GNAT style
+ and much more to come...
The 2 main developers are Markus Heritsch (who works under the
direction of Franco Gasperoni at ENST, Paris) and Rolf Ebert
(Munich, Germany).
* a simple ada-mode shipped as part of the emacs distribution (note:
it seems it doesn't work correctly);
* a more elaborate one from Steven D. Litvintchouk of Mitre Corp
called electric-ada (available from?--NO INFORMATION); and
* gnu-ada mode. Here is a small description of the features of this
mode:
Compile programs within emacs
Run compiler as inferior of Emacs, and parse its error
messages. NOTE: I believe that this feature will only
work with VADS, but it might have been tailored to work
with other compilers.
Ada dired
It supplies a form of dired that helps manage the VADS
environment, and it adds ADA vads commands into ada mode.
Unlike a previous dired-ada implementation, this version
uses the existing dired mode functions except where there
is unresolvable conflict. Thus, this is more like a minor
mode to dired. Very important because on actual version
of emacs 19(beta), in fact lemacs (lucid emacs), dired
has changed and we can no longer use gnu-ada mode :-(
you can consult the Ada Language Reference Manual (*) during
parsing error message.
(*)You can get one in e.g. the Public Ada Library.
smart indentation
Tries hard to do all the indenting automatically.
Emphasizes correct insertion of new code using smart
templates.
Smart template commands (bnf)
This is essentially a bnf processor/language-sensitive
editor. The next message will give you an ada bnf file
that you can use within ada-mode to expand nonterminals.
But you can roll your own grammars (e.g., your design
grammar or an ADL) and put them in *.bnf files ... The
BNF rule set is stored as a list of rules.
debugging Ada programs within emacs
A facility is provided for the simultaneous display of
the source code in one window, while using a.db to step
through a function in the other. A small arrow "=>" in
the source window, indicates the current line.
Move from procedure to procedure or package to package
tags Ada
and other things ...
You can find the gnu-ada mode in
ftp://ajpo.sei.cmu.edu/public/infoada/gnu/ as well as in the PAL,
under
ftp://wuarchive.wustl.edu/pub/languages/ada/swtools/emacs/adamode/.
^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 2+ messages in thread
* Ada FAQ: Comp.Lang.Ada (part 1 of 2)
@ 1994-09-12 1:05 ISAAC PENTINMAKI
0 siblings, 0 replies; 2+ messages in thread
From: ISAAC PENTINMAKI @ 1994-09-12 1:05 UTC (permalink / raw)
>to: Magnus Kempe <Magnus.Kempe@DI.EPFL.CH>
>To: IN%"INFO-ADA@VM1.NoDak.EDU" "Recipients of INFO-ADA digests"
>Subject: Ada FAQ: comp.lang.ada (part 1 of 2)
> R.R. Software: R.R.'s Janus/Ada Professional Development System --
> 60386 MS-DOS -- regularly goes for $500. (R.R. Software, P.O. Box
That's 80386 as in Intel 386.
> 1512, Madison, WI 53701; contact: Randall Brukardt 608/251-3133;
> e-mail: 4269344@mcimail.com.)
The e-mail changed to rbrukardt@bix.com.
>4.5: How can I contact Ada compiler vendors?
Not only out of date but incomplete. RRS's 7 year old 800 # is :
1-800-Pc-Ada-4u or 1-800-722-3248
What about the tiny market of Windows and Windows NT ?
^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 2+ messages in thread
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1994-09-09 19:37 Ada FAQ: comp.lang.ada (part 1 of 2) Magnus Kempe
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1994-09-12 1:05 Ada FAQ: Comp.Lang.Ada " ISAAC PENTINMAKI
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