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-Thread: 103376,f16a645029bb2cdd X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit Path: g2news1.google.com!news1.google.com!news2.google.com!proxad.net!134.158.69.22.MISMATCH!in2p3.fr!kanaga.switch.ch!switch.ch!newsfeed.inode.at!news.hispeed.ch!linux2.krischik.com!news From: Martin Krischik Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Re: The GNU Ada compiler Date: Thu, 22 Dec 2005 18:34:01 +0100 Organization: Cablecom Newsserver Message-ID: <4443086.LdpmeUz9oX@linux1.krischik.com> References: <8352037.GvZVdQSXN4@linux1.krischik.com> <10516182.EDYboSzEoF@linux1.krischik.com> <1500332.U7CjsdsL0l@linux1.krischik.com> <1691618.MhViCBI7GN@linux1.krischik.com> <8950475.JSDDGHQjBG@linux1.krischik.com> <1135119585.533549.119130@g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: 84-74-134-212.dclient.hispeed.ch Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7Bit X-Trace: news.hispeed.ch 1135275332 10323 84.74.134.212 (22 Dec 2005 18:15:32 GMT) X-Complaints-To: news@hispeed.ch NNTP-Posting-Date: Thu, 22 Dec 2005 18:15:32 +0000 (UTC) User-Agent: KNode/0.10 Xref: g2news1.google.com comp.lang.ada:6966 Date: 2005-12-22T18:34:01+01:00 List-Id: Steve Whalen wrote: > Martin Krischik wrote: >> I think AdaCore could do with some competition in the binary distribution >> area. Especial for targets for which they don't offer a GNAT/GPL edition. > First, thank you for getting this project started again. Thanks. > I agree that it is badly needed and appreciate your efforts. I think > we need these compilers for all targets, whether or not GNAT/GPL > editions are available. Much of the real world lives outside the GPL > universe and a GPL only compiler is not going to help get Ada into > such a shop, particularly a smaller shop. Currently I concentrate much on the GNAT/GPL but I think that may change when gcc 4.1 is out of the door. Apart from that I monitor the download stats to see what is appreciated and what is waisted effort. Interestingly enough currently source-rpm are more in demand then actual binaries. > It doesn't do any good to try to convince a small shop to start using > Ada by having them try the GNAT GPL version, when they know that it's > going to cost them several thousand dollars (or euros) per seat for a > version of Ada that allows them to write non-GPL proprietary > applications. Especially in non-defense oriented smaller shops, they > just don't have that kind of money to throw at a technology they > aren't' sure they can make use of. We need free GMGPL compilers to > bridge that gap. Indeed. > To proselytize Ada requires being able to put a fully usable Ada > compiler on whatever hardware and software environment is used in a > shop you want to impress without cost or restriction, and without > worrying about whether the Ada compiler is as brain dead as some of > them were / are when the gcc maintainers and the distribution release > people decided to pull the gcc tree for a distribution's release. This is why I hope to draw any maintainer to the project so we have a one stop for all GNAT needs. > We DO very much need a separate effort to be able to package Ada at > those times when it is stable and then make THAT compiler and those > libraries available with the GMGPL exceptions in all the right places. Yep and I just added the first library. One Stop. Don't ask for anything - I add the libraries I use for selfish reasons: Having installation images handy is helpfull from time to time. > The gcc that is chosen for release by distribution maintainers is > based on many factors, the very least of which is the state of the Ada > compiler in that particular flavor of gcc. Right. That's why - up to now - I never used the distribution compiler. This might change if 4.1 holds all it's promisses. > If we could point the distribution maintainers to a sourceforge site > and have them know that at any point in time the most stable version > of Ada was available there, we might have a very good chance that > quality Ada compilers would be distributed with more than just debian > (for which I thank Ludovic Brenta). This is why I make all the .spec files available as well - even as an rpm install. > In particular for proselytizing Ada, stable GMGPL Ada compilers need > to be available for Windows (Ming and cygwin), Redhat, SUSE, Mandrake, > and Solaris. As I said before: I can only do SuSE and only the version I use. Redhat could be done using the Sourceforge compile farm - only GNAT is not installed there :-( - but one can allways ask for it to be installed (does anybody know the package names?). Martin -- mailto://krischik@users.sourceforge.net Ada programming at: http://ada.krischik.com