Re: GNAT GPL Edition Maintenance and Upgrades

[Georg Bauhaus <bauhaus@futureapps.de>]

Jean-Pierre Rosen wrote:
> Georg Bauhaus a écrit :
> 
>> - we have 2 free GNATs, one with and one without GMGPL exception
> 
> That's exactly why I think ACT made a very bad move.
> 
> If you  are a 5 persons company (the ones most hit by the current 
> decision), you generally have more time than money (those people don't 
> count their hours ;-).

Yeah, I know. ;-)

> If you are a newcommer and just want to have a look at what Ada looks 
> like, you want a ready-to-run distribution.

Then just pick one (or use the one that comes with your OS).
If Windows programmers need a squarish colored window in
order to conceive of a compiler as a compiler,
then there is a business opportunity. Write another colorful GNAT
installer that promises ease of use. Use the MS trick. This has been
suggested many times, and if the installer is worth it, I'll be
among those who will consider bying at an adequate price.

> You download Gnat from ACT's 
> site (with some suspiscion: why do these guys require me to fill a 
> form), and then you discover that you are forced to use it for free 
> software only. Immediate conclusion: "Oh, Ada is just for those dreamers 
> of the FSF, nothing like an industrial language". Of course, these 
> people do not make the difference between Ada, Gnat and Gnat-Pro.

(Isn't this mere speculation? So no conclusions to be draw from this.)

I don't think anyone can overlook the eye catching distinctions
between the GNAT versions at the download site. I have seen this
elsewhere, Eiffel software, Borland, Microsoft, ....