From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.9 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00 autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,d96fc46c499cf60c X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 1995-03-11 12:59:59 PST Path: bga.com!news.sprintlink.net!pipex!uunet!gwu.edu!gwu.edu!not-for-mail From: mfeldman@seas.gwu.edu (Michael Feldman) Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Re: Best Ada comp/env for Sun Date: 11 Mar 1995 15:33:10 -0500 Organization: George Washington University Message-ID: <3jt1e6$cjk@felix.seas.gwu.edu> References: NNTP-Posting-Host: 128.164.9.3 Date: 1995-03-11T15:33:10-05:00 List-Id: In article , Michael A. Packer wrote: >We are in the process of switching from pascal to Ada and I need to >find a compiler to use. Can anyone recommend which compiler is best >and most complete to use on Sun machines running SunOS 4.1.4? > Depends on what you think you need. People new to Ada have trouble believing that there are no dialects, but it is true. Ada _compilers_ all accept exactly the same language, certainly for any program to be written by a first- year student, and all the first-year texts have completely portable examples and software distributions. So the choice of a compiler has nothing to do with the language itself, but rather with the environmental stuff. Some of the commercial compilers have nice X-based environments, but then the students need X terminals to use them. Otherwise, you're talking about vt100 emulation. Our students use vi as their editor. This lets them run from any seat in the university, whether PC, Mac, or workstation, using terminal emulation. There are also some serial network plugs in the dorms, so students with PCs or Macs can run from there. Students who live off campus dial in. We've also concluded that Unix is a great "leveler", as the kids who "learned it all" in high school find they are not as learned as they thought.:-) We have used Ada/Ed for our CS1 course for the last 4 years, and found it to be just great at that level. It's easy to install (builds wih GCC) and simple. We have a few scripts that encapsulate a number of options to make it easier for newbies. The messages are friendly, and, CS1-level programs, compilation is faster than is the case with commercial compilers. Runtime tracing is, at the level of intro programs, almost trivial to set up, with no need to learn a debugger. For more advanced students, you can install GNAT, the Ada 95 compiler from NYU. This fits in nicely with your GCC installation. We are using it with some more advanced classes. It's a great piece of work and it's free; I would not recommend it for freshmen because the runtime tracing requires them to learn how to use gdb. No environment either, but if students have access to X terminals they (or you) can set up their own set of windows (editor, listing, output, etc.). Ada/Ed and GNAT can be ftp-ed from cs.nyu.edu; details on request. Alsys (now Thomson Software) provides a very nice Ada 83 compiler with full X environment. It's mature and stable, and costs perhaps $1000. through the LEAP program. You can install it on your server and run it on workstations without floating-license grief. Rational's SEED program provides the APEX environment free to universities, which is very nice for advanced work, but is too resource-hungry for large intro classes. The baseline VADS (formerly Verdix) compiler is not available for SunOS through SEED, because of an arrangement with Sun that prohibits it. If you have the disk space and a bit of system manager resources to do so, I recommend bringing in as many as you can, then letting the faculty and students explore. Comparing Ada compilers is fun for many folks, especially because - for nearly all student programs - the language is identical so you can compare the other stuff at will. More by e-mail if you wish. Mike Feldman ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Michael B. Feldman - chair, SIGAda Education Working Group Professor, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science The George Washington University - Washington, DC 20052 USA 202-994-5919 (voice) - 202-994-0227 (fax) - mfeldman@seas.gwu.edu (Internet) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ One, two, three ways an underdog: Ada fan, Mac fan, Old Liberal Democrat ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ada on the WWW: http://lglwww.epfl.ch/Ada/ or http://info.acm.org/sigada/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------