How do I "bootstrap" myself up a GNAT compiler in FreeBSD?

How do I "bootstrap" myself up a GNAT compiler in FreeBSD?

[Gerald Leung]

For anyone here who uses FreeBSD, gnat is in the ports collection
listed as a translator though as I understand it it actually IS a
full compiler or most of a full one.

However, when attempting to install the port for gnat 3.10 it says
I need a gcc that already has Ada capability.  What I'm wondering
is how I manage that. ^^  Should I be looking for a 3.09 or earlier
version that can be installed whole or...?

This is a little snag that has been on my list of things to figure
out for awhile, so all help is appreciated.


Gerald Leung

Re: How do I "bootstrap" myself up a GNAT compiler in FreeBSD?

[Jonathan Guthrie]

In comp.lang.ada Gerald Leung <gerald@soda.CSUA.Berkeley.EDU> wrote:

> For anyone here who uses FreeBSD, gnat is in the ports collection
> listed as a translator though as I understand it it actually IS a
> full compiler or most of a full one.

I always understood that "translator" is the generic term that means
"either compiler or interpreter".  That is how I use that term in
conversation.  Systems that translate programs from one language to
another are "compilers" systems that figure out what a program does
and then do it are "interpreters".

There is nothing in the term "translator" that implies anything but a
"full compiler or most of a full one".

Of course, the GNAT people now insist that GNAT doesn't stand for
anything.

I'm still waiting for a gnatp that works with gcc 2.8.1.

-- 
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Re: How do I "bootstrap" myself up a GNAT compiler in FreeBSD?

[dewarr]

In article <6ucde5$oeq$1@agate.berkeley.edu>,
  gerald@soda.CSUA.Berkeley.EDU (Gerald Leung) wrote:
>
> For anyone here who uses FreeBSD, gnat is in the ports collection
> listed as a translator though as I understand it it actually IS a
> full compiler or most of a full one.
>
> However, when attempting to install the port for gnat 3.10 it says
> I need a gcc that already has Ada capability.  What I'm wondering
> is how I manage that. ^^  Should I be looking for a 3.09 or earlier
> version that can be installed whole or...?
>
> This is a little snag that has been on my list of things to figure
> out for awhile, so all help is appreciated.

Yes, GNAT *is* a translator, in the sense that all compilers
are translators, it translates from Ada to machine language!
Actually we have dropped the designation Translator precisely
because it gets misunderstood (if you find this designation
somewhere, let us know, it is obsolete)

Since GNAT is written in Ada, of course you need an Ada
compiler to compile it. This must be achieved by finding
a binary for a previous 3.09 version, which may or may not
exist (Free BSD is not one of the targets for which ACT
provides a port). Alternatively you must build a cross-compiler
from some other target. The latter is indeed only a "little
snag", but only if you are familiar with GCC and know what
you are doing!

Doesn't FreeBSD run Linux executables? That is another
way to solve the problem, since Linux ports are definitely
available.

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Re: How do I "bootstrap" myself up a GNAT compiler in FreeBSD?

[dewarr]

In article <6ucde5$oeq$1@agate.berkeley.edu>,
  gerald@soda.CSUA.Berkeley.EDU (Gerald Leung) wrote:
>
> For anyone here who uses FreeBSD, gnat is in the ports collection
> listed as a translator though as I understand it it actually IS a
> full compiler or most of a full one.
>
> However, when attempting to install the port for gnat 3.10 it says
> I need a gcc that already has Ada capability.  What I'm wondering
> is how I manage that. ^^  Should I be looking for a 3.09 or earlier
> version that can be installed whole or...?
>
> This is a little snag that has been on my list of things to figure
> out for awhile, so all help is appreciated.
>
> Gerald Leung


One addition here. It is easy enough to get a port without
tasking. Tasking is another matter. Since there is no real
standard for threading in Unix, this needs at least some
specialization for each target, and possibly a port of
FSU threads. This is definitely more than a "little snag".
>
>

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Re: How do I "bootstrap" myself up a GNAT compiler in FreeBSD?

[Samuel Tardieu]

>>>>> "Gerald" == Gerald Leung <gerald@soda.CSUA.Berkeley.EDU> writes:

Gerald> For anyone here who uses FreeBSD, gnat is in the ports
Gerald> collection listed as a translator though as I understand it it
Gerald> actually IS a full compiler or most of a full one.

Historical misnaming :)

Gerald> However, when attempting to install the port for gnat 3.10 it
Gerald> says I need a gcc that already has Ada capability.  What I'm
Gerald> wondering is how I manage that. ^^ Should I be looking for a
Gerald> 3.09 or earlier version that can be installed whole or...?

If you install 3.09 (binary distribution), you should be able to
bootstrap 3.10p.

On the other hand, I've heard success report of a bootstrap occurring
in Linux compatibility mode.

  Sam
-- 
Samuel Tardieu -- sam@ada.eu.org