GNAT on the Macintosh: 68k status

GNAT on the Macintosh: 68k status

[Arthur Evans Jr]

There have been several mentions here that there is a project underway
to port GNAT to the Macintosh.  Here's a bit of a status report from a
member of the team who is working on the 680x0 part of the project.

We have already released GNAT 3.03, and I am preparing 3.04 for release.
The product itself seems pretty solid; I am waiting for input from other
members of the team for some components needed to prepare a release that
can be easily installed.

While waiting, I've been using GNAT 3.04 and getting good results.
Although it sometimes seems slow (on a Quadra-650), my subjective
impression is that is always faster than the old Meridian compiler, and
in many ways, _much_ faster.  And, of course, it's Ada-95 rather than
Ada-83.

There will be a post here in a few days (I hope!) when the product is
released.  For now, further information is available at
    http://gnat-mac.com/macada/

By the way, we do not support tasking on the 680x0, and it's not clear
that we ever will.  However, tasking is supported on the PowerPC
version.

Art Evans

Arthur Evans Jr, PhD        Phone: 412-963-0839
Ada Consulting              FAX:   412-963-0927
461 Fairview Road
Pittsburgh PA  15238-1933
evans@evans.pgh.pa.us

Re: GNAT on the Macintosh: 68k status

[Robert Dewar]

Art Evans said

"By the way, we do not support tasking on the 680x0, and it's not clear
that we ever will.  However, tasking is supported on the PowerPC
version."

This is incorrect. The technical work on the tasking for the PowerPC
version is being done by Cyrille Comar (Ada Core Technologies) and
Jim Hopper (McGee consulting) with help from other folks including
the people at Tenon, who have successfully ported a thread package
which is the first step. However, the actual port of tasking is 
definitely NOT done yet, so Art's use of the present tense is
premature.

(Ed Schonberg likes to call this (mis)use of the present tense, the
"Computer Science Present Tense", in honor of its wide use in the
computer programming field :-)

Re: GNAT on the Macintosh: 68k status

[James E. Hopper]

In article <evans-0506961131540001@ppp76.s5.pgh.net> Arthur Evans Jr,
evans@evans.pgh.pa.us writes:
>By the way, we do not support tasking on the 680x0, and it's not clear
>that we ever will.  However, tasking is supported on the PowerPC
>version.
>

as one of the primary ppc port people i have to say change that to WILL
be supported.
  our delivery date on this is scheduled for mid august, but we might get
there
  sooner.
  
  
jim

Re: GNAT on the Macintosh: 68k status

[Dale Stanbrough]

Robert Dewar writes:

"The technical work on the tasking for the PowerPC
 version is being done by Cyrille Comar (Ada Core Technologies) and
 Jim Hopper (McGee consulting) with help from other folks including
 the people at Tenon, who have successfully ported a thread package
 which is the first step."

MacOS already has a threads module. Will this be used, or is an
entirely new Ada specific thread package being ported?

Dale

Re: GNAT on the Macintosh: 68k status

[James E. Hopper]

In article <4p7l1o$2jo@goanna.cs.rmit.edu.au> Dale Stanbrough,
dale@goanna.cs.rmit.EDU.AU writes:
>MacOS already has a threads module. Will this be used, or is an
>entirely new Ada specific thread package being ported?
>

Dale,

tenon uses the apple threads package as the heart of its threads stuff.  
they have taken the p-threads package used in the linux port and used it
as a interface to their threads.  we hope to do a direct mapping to apple
threads later in the summer when I learn from Cyrille and the ACT folks
how to make an existing port work in the mac environment.  we are building
standalone mac apps and its of great interest to me to be able to do
tasking
in them without having to have machten available to run the apps.


best jim