GNAT Library Reference. Where can I find it?

GNAT Library Reference. Where can I find it?

[Robert Schien]

I want to learn programming in Ada 95. The compiler I'm using
is GNAT. It seems to be quite powerful and I think the
GNAT people are doing a good job. The platforms I'm using
are FreeBSD and Win95/NT.

Of course, there is a lot of information available (www.adahome.com).
But what I am missing is a reference manual about the library (
standard routines). It seems to be contained in the online RM95 manual 
but unfortunately it is NOT in the tar-file gnat-3.10p-src.tar.gz,
which contains a great user manual and reference manual about
the language but no short library reference.
(I grep'ed for the numerical function Sqrt for instance and didn't
find it)

Where can I find a library reference manual?

In order to learn a new programming language it's quite important
to know what routines (or procedures or packages) are available.

TIA
Robert

Re: GNAT Library Reference. Where can I find it?

[Al Christians]

Robert Schien wrote:
> 
> I want to learn programming in Ada 95. The compiler I'm using
> is GNAT. It seems to be quite powerful and I think the
> GNAT people are doing a good job. The platforms I'm using
> are FreeBSD and Win95/NT.
> 
> Of course, there is a lot of information available (www.adahome.com).
> But what I am missing is a reference manual about the library (
> standard routines). It seems to be contained in the online RM95 manual
> but unfortunately it is NOT in the tar-file gnat-3.10p-src.tar.gz,

Try AdaGide.  See:

http://www.usafa.af.mil/dfcs/bios/mcc_html/adagide.html

It is an Ada IDE (runs on Win95/NT) with an Ada LRM reachable from the 
help menu. The index and searching capabilities are about as good as 
typical for help files, which is that it never finds much of what I'm 
looking for. But once you have used it for a little while, you will 
likely have a  pretty good idea which part(s) of the LRM apply, and it 
has not been a problem for me.  It's nicer than looking at the book, 
which is also pleasingly printed. 

[ This brings up a related question, wouldn't it be nice if AdaGide had
GNAT documentation reachable from the Help menu? ]

A few years ago, the Ada Information Clearinghouse or the Ada Joint
Program Office passed out free printed Ada 95 LRM's  and printed copies 
of the _Ada_95_Rationale_, which explains some of the things in the 
LRM.  IDK if you can still get these from that source, but I do 
sometimes see copies in used bookstores.  

 
Al

Re: GNAT Library Reference. Where can I find it?

[dennison]

In article <F1ut4I.2Aq@robkaos.ruhr.de>,
  robsch@robkaos.ruhr.de (Robert Schien) wrote:
> But what I am missing is a reference manual about the library (
> standard routines). It seems to be contained in the online RM95 manual

You seem to have answered your own question.

> (I grep'ed for the numerical function Sqrt for instance and didn't
> find it)

Try appendix A of the LRM. The specification of "Sqrt" is in section 5.1(4)
(online at http://www.adahome.com/rm95/rm9x-A-05-01.html )

--
T.E.D.

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Re: GNAT Library Reference. Where can I find it?

[Gautier de Montmollin]

Robert Schien wrote:

> Of course, there is a lot of information available (www.adahome.com).
> But what I am missing is a reference manual about the library (
> standard routines). It seems to be contained in the online RM95 manual
> but unfortunately it is NOT in the tar-file gnat-3.10p-src.tar.gz,
> which contains a great user manual and reference manual about
> the language but no short library reference.
> (I grep'ed for the numerical function Sqrt for instance and didn't
> find it)

You can use the Adahelp hypertext engine: it creates an hypertext
index about any word.
E.g. command "adahelp sqrt" produces at screen:

----
GWAda Help Engine Token Search

Sqrt   A.5.1(5), B.1(52), G.1.2(4)
----

then you just have to click one of the references...

Adahelp is in gw_gnat.zip @ ftp://ftp.gwu.edu/pub/ada/ez2load/
or any mirror - http://ftpsearch.ntnu.no/cgi-bin/search?query=gw_gnat.zip

NB: my tiny IDE, EDIT, calls this feature when the cursor is on a word
(and you activate the right menu entry / key, of course...)
EDIT: http://www.unine.ch/math/Personnel/Assistants/Gautier/edit.htm

-- 
Gautier

--------
Homepage: http://www.unine.ch/math/Personnel/Assistants/Gautier/Montmollin.html
Software: http://www.unine.ch/math/Personnel/Assistants/Gautier/Gaut_FTP.htm

Re: GNAT Library Reference. Where can I find it?

[dewar]

In article <F1ut4I.2Aq@robkaos.ruhr.de>,
  robsch@robkaos.ruhr.de (Robert Schien) wrote:
> I want to learn programming in Ada 95. The compiler I'm using
> is GNAT. It seems to be quite powerful and I think the
> GNAT people are doing a good job. The platforms I'm using
> are FreeBSD and Win95/NT.
>
> Of course, there is a lot of information available (www.adahome.com).
> But what I am missing is a reference manual about the library (
> standard routines). It seems to be contained in the online RM95 manual
> but unfortunately it is NOT in the tar-file gnat-3.10p-src.tar.gz,
> which contains a great user manual and reference manual about
> the language but no short library reference.
> (I grep'ed for the numerical function Sqrt for instance and didn't
> find it)
>
> Where can I find a library reference manual?


For standard defined routines (like sqrt) you look in the Ada
RM, or in a standard Ada textbook. The GNAT documentation does
NOT attempt to duplicate standard Ada information, it assumes
that you know Ada.

For GNAT specific library routines, see the specs of the
GNAT packages, found in files g-*.ads in the GNAT standard
library.

Robert Dewar
Ada Core Technologies

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Re: GNAT Library Reference. Where can I find it?

[Bill Ghrist]

"Programming in Ada 95", by John Barnes, has a good overview of the
Standard library.  It is not comprehensive, but it will tell you most of
what you want to know, and might make it easier to figure out how to get
the rest of the information from the RM and the .ads files.  Barnes'
book makes a good "reference manual" in general.

Regards,
Bill Ghrist

Robert Schien wrote:
> 
> I want to learn programming in Ada 95. The compiler I'm using
> is GNAT. It seems to be quite powerful and I think the
> GNAT people are doing a good job. The platforms I'm using
> are FreeBSD and Win95/NT.
> 
> Of course, there is a lot of information available (www.adahome.com).
> But what I am missing is a reference manual about the library (
> standard routines). It seems to be contained in the online RM95 manual
> but unfortunately it is NOT in the tar-file gnat-3.10p-src.tar.gz,
> which contains a great user manual and reference manual about
> the language but no short library reference.
> (I grep'ed for the numerical function Sqrt for instance and didn't
> find it)
> 
> Where can I find a library reference manual?
> 
> In order to learn a new programming language it's quite important
> to know what routines (or procedures or packages) are available.
> 
> TIA
> Robert