Re: Linux Kernel in Ada. Repost

[Samuel Mize <smize@imagin.net>]

Robert Dewar <robert_dewar@my-dejanews.com> wrote:
> In article <7ep9p3$9fm@drn.newsguy.com>,
>   mike@nospam wrote:
...
>> This is a waste of time for me having to do this
>> everytime I encounter a new struct, and having each Ada
>> programmer do the same becuase there is no common
>> Ada/Posix binding to use that allready did all this
>> work for us.
> 
> Well first of all, if you are talking about the IEEE
> standard binding, there most certainly is a common
> binding.
> 
> If you are talking about a comprehensive thin binding,
> so far we have seen no demand for such a thing, which
> is why it does not exist, at least in the GNAT world.
> If someone wants to volunteer to create this, great!

And this brings the discussion around full circle.  There isn't much
work being done on extending Linux with Ada, because it requires a
thin binding, which doesn't exist because there's so little demand --
because there isn't much work being done on extending Linux with Ada!

ACT's business plan aims them in a different direction -- they won't
be the ones to break this cycle.

Fortunately, it shouldn't take a big, costly effort.  Someone could
set up a web site, and guide the architecture of the thin binding.

You want it set up so that it ports to a new OS by changing a couple
of key packages that everything else depends on (one of the few times
it's good for everything to "with" in a "global types" package).

You might also want to set up a standardized tool to extract the
critical constants from the C headers and generate the Ada packages
to define them.

Robert Dewar has rightly pointed out the level of coordination,
negotiation and consensus-building that it would require to create a
thin binding as a true standard -- that is, a standard agreed to by
such accrediting organizations as ISO and ANSI.

But a good de facto standard for a thin Linux/Posix/Unix binding may
do a lot to enhance Ada's market penetration.

I hope the original poster, or one of the other interested parties,
has the time and inclination to do this.  I think it could do a lot
of good.

Best,
Sam Mize

-- 
Samuel Mize -- smize@imagin.net (home email) -- Team Ada
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