[question] Ada and DataBase

[question] Ada and DataBase

[S. Metzger]

Hello all,

I have no experience with ADA (but with C++ or visual Basic) and I have a
question :

Is there any Data base engin with ADA ?
or
Is there any Data base engin (For exemple : Microsoft DAO engin) compatible
with ADA ?
All this under Windows 95/98 naturally !!!

If yes, where may I find some documentation about it ???

Thank you by advance for answers.

Best regards.

Serge Metzger.
LSIIT - Stagiaire CNAM - Bureau B226
metzger@dpt-info.u-strasbg.fr
ou
metaxylophenol@hotmail.com

"Les dimensions et les caract�ristiques sont
toujours exprim�es en termes les moins usit�s.
La vitesse, par exemple, est indiqu�e en
huiti�me de mille par quinzaine" (Loi de Murphy)

Re: [question] Ada and DataBase

[Tom Moran]

>Is there any Data base engin (For exemple : Microsoft DAO engin) compatible
>with ADA ?
>All this under Windows 95/98 naturally !!!
I don't have the URL handy, but I know that last summer my son did an
Ada program under Windows that used SQL bindings posted on someone's
web site.  Someone else hopefully will post a URL here.

Re: [question] Ada and DataBase

[Paul Whittington]

I used to work for the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental
Laboratory (INEEL), and over the past seventeen years, or so, we 
developed an embedded database library for Ada called Sage.

You can find out about it at
http://sageftp.inel.gov/sage/homepage.html.
Note the "Free Downloads" section. 

You might want to call Doug Colonel (208)526-0204 [col@inel.gov], or
Warren Merrill (208)526-9157 [wom@inel.gov] at the INEEL to see if you
can get one of the free CDs that have been distributed at trade shows
in the past.  One of the CDs, I don't remember if all, had a complete
working version, with source, that compiled and ran using GNAT on
Linux, but note that this was several years ago.

"S. Metzger" wrote:
> 
> Hello all,
> 
> I have no experience with ADA (but with C++ or visual Basic) and I have a
> question :
> 
> Is there any Data base engin with ADA ?
> or
> Is there any Data base engin (For exemple : Microsoft DAO engin) compatible
> with ADA ?
> All this under Windows 95/98 naturally !!!
> 
> If yes, where may I find some documentation about it ???
> 
> Thank you by advance for answers.
> 
> Best regards.
> 
> Serge Metzger.
> LSIIT - Stagiaire CNAM - Bureau B226
> metzger@dpt-info.u-strasbg.fr
> ou
> metaxylophenol@hotmail.com
> 
> "Les dimensions et les caract�ristiques sont
> toujours exprim�es en termes les moins usit�s.
> La vitesse, par exemple, est indiqu�e en
> huiti�me de mille par quinzaine" (Loi de Murphy)

-- 
Paul Whittington
GrepNet, Inc.
(208)523-7375
paul@grep.net

"Even if you're on the right track you'll get
 run over if you stand still."

Will Rogers

Re: [question] Ada and DataBase

[Siamak.Lina]

David Botton <David@Botton.com> wrote in message
news:3720E1D0.E0EF7B58@Botton.com...
> ODBC bindings exist and a thicker binding to them has been created by
>

Hi,

Sorry for my stupid question but I am wondering what is the meaning of thin
or thick binding. I appreciate any explanation.


Sam

Re: [question] Ada and DataBase

[me]

In article <xo6U2.170$lA1.475@198.235.216.4>, "Siamak.Lina" says...
>
 
>
>Sorry for my stupid question but I am wondering what is the meaning of thin
>or thick binding. I appreciate any explanation.
>
>
 
Assume you have some C layer of software (or any other language), with n 
API's (functions) defined on it that clients can use, this layer is meant
to be called by a C linkage interface. So, if you want to also to call
this same layer from Ada, you need an Ada binding (a small layer
of software that sits between the Ada program, and the C layer). an Ada 
thin binding means to have an Ada API that maps 1:1 each one of those 
'native' C calls to an Ada call.

So the Ada API (the small layer of binding software) that you see in 
your Ada program is very much like the C API, so using the Ada thin 
binding is very easy if you know the C API, and you can then 
use the C API documentation as well. (Ada bisning calls uses same number
of arguments, same error return status etc.. to large extent).

In a Thick API, the Ada API (the binding) is not a 1:1 mapping, it is a
new API (form the Ada client point of view) to the lower C layer, where 
one Ada call, can end up calling a number of those underlying C API 
calls, i.e. the Ada binding is  meant to both allow you to interface 
to the C layer, and also simplify the interface and to project a higher 
level of view/abstraction to the system.
 
Usually a thick binding will contain less calls than the C API. (that is the
is called think, the Ada think API will do more work internally and has
more logic in it than the thin one).

The disadvantage of this, is that it is a new API, different
than the one most people are used to, and requires new documentaions. The
advantages, is that you can give the thick API an Ada look and feel to it,
since you are free to not to use the same way the C API was designed, and also
you can hide more detailes from the user. (you can for example throw an
expection, where the C API might have returned an error status, etc..)

hope this helps.
 
me.

Re: [question] Ada and DataBase

[David Botton]

ODBC bindings exist and a thicker binding to them has been created by
Pascal Obry. An example of using ODBC and a link to Pascal Obry's
packages can be found on the Ada Source Code Treasury.
http://www.botton.com/ada/os/odbc.html

It would also be possible to use the ADO (which replaces DAO from MS)
using the COM techniques on the site. I am working on a binding
generator that will be available soon to make the task of binding COM
objects easier in the future.

David Botton


"S. Metzger" wrote:
> 
> Hello all,
> 
> I have no experience with ADA (but with C++ or visual Basic) and I have a
> question :
> 
> Is there any Data base engin with ADA ?
> or
> Is there any Data base engin (For exemple : Microsoft DAO engin) compatible
> with ADA ?
> All this under Windows 95/98 naturally !!!
> 
> If yes, where may I find some documentation about it ???
> 
> Thank you by advance for answers.
> 
> Best regards.
> 
> Serge Metzger.
> LSIIT - Stagiaire CNAM - Bureau B226
> metzger@dpt-info.u-strasbg.fr
> ou
> metaxylophenol@hotmail.com
> 
> "Les dimensions et les caract�ristiques sont
> toujours exprim�es en termes les moins usit�s.
> La vitesse, par exemple, est indiqu�e en
> huiti�me de mille par quinzaine" (Loi de Murphy)

Re: [question] Ada and DataBase

[Tom Moran]

> I am wondering what is the meaning of thin
>or thick binding. I appreciate any explanation.
A thin binding has the underlying (C or whatever) functions rewritten
in Ada syntax, with appropriate pragma Imports.  Usually the names
have also been changed as little as possible from the original.  The
advantages include: little documentation (you can just go read the C
docs) and ease and speed of creation - in fact a substantial amount of
the work can be automated.  The disadvantages include: you are forced
to program in C with Ada syntax, ie at a very low abstraction level.
Usually it uses C idoms - pointers, 'address, no "out" parameters,
etc.
  A thick(er) binding is more Ada-like.  It usually utilizes Ada
capabilities like strong typing, tasking, protected records, etc etc.
You are using your Ada skills and getting help from the Ada compiler,
instead of using your C skills, and it feels like  it.  Typically the
abstraction level is much higher, and a lot of memory
allocation/deallocation, task safeness, etc stuff has already been
done for you by the author of the binding.  Last but not least, said
author has already discovered many of the things the C docs left out,
since he had to learn how things actually work.  The disadvantage is
that it isn't C so  it needs to be documented itself rather than just
refering you to the C books, and of course it takes a lot more work to
create. 
   Thickness varies of course.  A very thick binding often obscures
the differences between OSes, which can be good for portability, but
bad when you really need "that Windows look and feel" or some
capability that is so specific to one OS that the thick binding
doesn't even try to support it.  OTOH, a good thick binding should
allow ways to get at the underlying system and mix abstraction levels
when necessary without too much pain.
   I once suggested that thickness be measured in R values, like house
insulation.  Really thin is R1, near complete separation from the
external environment is, say, R50.  Someone counterproposed that
thickness could be measured by the ratio of sizes of the specs to the
bodies.  A thin binding has hardly any body, of course.
   I coauthored a paper on Claw, a thick Ada binding to Windows, at
the TriAda '97.  It discusses some of the issues and is available
online at www.rrsoftware.com  (I'd describe Claw as about R15-20, and
its package bodies total just under twice the specs.)

Re: [question] Ada and DataBase

[Siamak.Lina]

Thank you all for explaining me the difference between thin and thick
binding,  your explanations are helpful,

Sam

Re: [question] Ada and DataBase

[David Botton]

Thin bindings are the equivalent of translating a C header file in to
Ada. A thick binding would be to abstract the yuckiness (technical term)
of C style programming with code that leverages the P O W E R of Ada.

Familiar C++ example of thin/thick bindings:

Windows 32 API  = Thin C/C++ binding to Windows API
Microsoft Foundation Classes = Thick C++ binding to Windows API

David Botton


"Siamak.Lina" wrote:
> 
> David Botton <David@Botton.com> wrote in message
> news:3720E1D0.E0EF7B58@Botton.com...
> > ODBC bindings exist and a thicker binding to them has been created by
> >
> 
> Hi,
> 
> Sorry for my stupid question but I am wondering what is the meaning of thin
> or thick binding. I appreciate any explanation.
> 
> Sam

Re: [question] Ada and DataBase

[Fr�d�ric BROUARD]

S. Metzger wrote:

> Hello all,
>
> I have no experience with ADA (but with C++ or visual Basic) and I
> have a
> question :
>
> Is there any Data base engin with ADA ?
> or
> Is there any Data base engin (For exemple : Microsoft DAO engin)
> compatible
> with ADA ?
> All this under Windows 95/98 naturally !!!
>
> If yes, where may I find some documentation about it ???
>
> Thank you by advance for answers.
>
> Best regards.
>
> Serge Metzger.
> LSIIT - Stagiaire CNAM - Bureau B226
> metzger@dpt-info.u-strasbg.fr
> ou
> metaxylophenol@hotmail.com
>
> "Les dimensions et les caract�ristiques sont
> toujours exprim�es en termes les moins usit�s.
> La vitesse, par exemple, est indiqu�e en
> huiti�me de mille par quinzaine" (Loi de Murphy)

You can use Inprise (Borland) BDE engine.
The use is free for files bases databases (Paradox, dBase, FoxPro,
Access, Excel) and works much more faster than MS products. Also you can
have more access to SQL C/S bases like Oracle, Sybase, Informix, DB2 and
SQL Server with the same engine, but you will have to pay (take DELPHI
4, Enterprise version)...
To find how to uses API call to the engine, see the documentation
include in .int files.

Frederic BROUARD - databases conceptor in FRANCE
DELPHI - Paradox -  SQL C/S expert - Ada lover
Professionnal e-mail address : f.brouard@simog.com
Private e-mail address : brouardf@club-internet.fr