Re: Ada and embedded applications

[Jeffrey Carter <jrcarter@acm.org>]

Marin David Condic wrote:
> 
> I wouldn't say that it is *impossible* to get an Ada program into 512 bytes
> of memory, but you'd have to have a compiler that made it possible to build
> code with no runtime (like GNORT) or you might find yourself dragging along
> way too much other stuff. Technically speaking, I don't think this is a
> *language* problem - more one of a *linkage* problem. There may be some
> language issues such as this: I write a single procedure to run in my 512
> bytes of memory. Will Ada demand that there be some kind of
> elaboration/initialization/finalization that takes place such that I've got
> to drag along more stuff than I need? Could a compiler be built (and would
> it be *legal* Ada or a subset?) that was smart enough to detect that my
> single procedure program required nothing but jumping to the starting
> address and executing from there? I'd suspect thjat the answer is "Yes, but
> it may require bending language rules and will certainly require you don't
> use specific features."

Pragma Preelaborate exists to allow the elimination of elaboration,
including initialization. Obviously you can't use controlled types in a
pre-elaborable unit, so finalization disappears, too. I would think that
if you can get the compiler to accept your procedure with pragma
Preelaborate that it would do what you want.

-- 
Jeff Carter
"I blow my nose on you."
Monty Python & the Holy Grail