Ada, open source software and Linux

Ada, open source software and Linux

[fmdf]

Ciao,

Sorry for the other same subject yet empty post... I've pressed enter
too soon.

I am going to write a few pages article about Ada for an Italian Linux
and Open Source devoted magazine. It'll be just an introduction article
to the language main features and great capabilities, it won't be a
very technical detailed one.

Some subjects that come to my mind are: what is Ada, some History, who
use it, why Ada (readability, expressiveness, maintainability,
efficiency, reliability, times and costs, portability, etc.), a few
notes about Ada and C/C++ safety and reliability, and eventually a
mini-tour of the main features and strenghts, Linux support of Ada
(GCC/GNAT, GDB, GPS, GtkAda, etc.).

Here comes where I ask for some help from you all. I also want to write
something much closer to the interests of the audience, that is Linux
OS and Open Source Programming. Many of them are used to write mostly
C/C++ open source programs (when not using some very high level
language like Python and Perl) and I would like to make them understand
that (1) Ada is not just another more or less useless programming
language, (2) that it is worth investing some time to learn and use it
and (3) that Ada can be a very powerful tool for open source
programming especially where a lot of people is involved. I am
particularly afraid of many C/C++ programmers won't bother even to hear
about Ada or any other language.

So, have you got any thoughts about these three subjects? Any
suggestion on how to treat this matter? Any hint would be appreciated,
yet please don't stuck only on safety related stuff (many programmers
swear they know how to avoid common problems, even when you catch them
while going crazy hunting for bugs with a debugger).

Editorial staff asked me to provide a draft, while the publication has
yet to be approved and it depends on how much this subject they think
would be interesting to their readers (and obviously on how good the
article itself would be). I hope that it will contribute, even if
marginally, to the knowledge and appreciation of Ada in that little
Italian community of Linux programmers and users.

Thank you all for your precious time spent on this message.

Regards,

fabio de francesco

Re: Ada, open source software and Linux

[Ed Falis]

Take a look at http://www.adacore.com/aa_about.php

- Ed

Re: Ada, open source software and Linux

[Ed Falis]

Also libre.adacore.com

- Ed

Re: Ada, open source software and Linux

[Georg Bauhaus]

fmdf@tiscali.it wrote:

> I also want to write
> something much closer to the interests of the audience, that is Linux
> OS and Open Source Programming.

"The Big Online Book of Linux Ada Programming", at
http://www.pegasoft.ca/resources/boblap/book.html

Also of interest in the development tools section:
http://www.jgrasp.org

-- Georg 

Re: Ada, open source software and Linux

[Jean-Pierre Rosen]

fmdf@tiscali.it a écrit :
> Here comes where I ask for some help from you all. I also want to write
> something much closer to the interests of the audience, that is Linux
> OS and Open Source Programming. Many of them are used to write mostly
> C/C++ open source programs (when not using some very high level
> language like Python and Perl) and I would like to make them understand
> that (1) Ada is not just another more or less useless programming
> language, (2) that it is worth investing some time to learn and use it
> and (3) that Ada can be a very powerful tool for open source
> programming especially where a lot of people is involved. I am
> particularly afraid of many C/C++ programmers won't bother even to hear
> about Ada or any other language.
> 
You can get the slides of my presentation about Ada and free software at
http://www.ada-france.org/IMG/pdf/presentation-jpr-5.pdf

And while we are talking about good news...
Ada got papers in two french journals recently: "Login" (february and 
march issues) and "Linux Magazine" (march issue).

-- 
---------------------------------------------------------
            J-P. Rosen (rosen@adalog.fr)
Visit Adalog's web site at http://www.adalog.fr

Re: Ada, open source software and Linux

[Ludovic Brenta]

Since you are targetting specifically an audience of GNU/Linux
enthusiasts, I feel compelled to point you to my Debian Policy for Ada
document:

http://www.ada-france.org/debian/debian-ada-policy.html

This document is getting old.  I have made some minor updates but not
published them yet.

I also suggest you get in touch with the authors of the recent
articles in GNU/Linux Magazine and Login (which Lionel mentioned), you
all may want to share ideas.  These articles were briefly discussed
recently on fr.comp.lang.ada.

-- 
Ludovic Brenta.

Re: Ada, open source software and Linux

[Matthew Heaney]

fmdf@tiscali.it writes:

> Some subjects that come to my mind are: what is Ada, some History, who
> use it, why Ada (readability, expressiveness, maintainability,
> efficiency, reliability, times and costs, portability, etc.), a few
> notes about Ada and C/C++ safety and reliability, and eventually a
> mini-tour of the main features and strenghts, Linux support of Ada
> (GCC/GNAT, GDB, GPS, GtkAda, etc.).

Ada 2005 (which will be finalized sometime this summer) will include a
container library not unlike the C++ STL.  The library includes vectors,
lists, sets, and maps.  The sets and maps have both ordered and hashed
versions.

The reference implementation of the container library is all
open-source (using the GNAT Modified GPL license):

<http://charles.tigris.org/source/browse/charles/src/ai302/>


> I am particularly afraid of many C/C++ programmers won't bother even
> to hear about Ada or any other language.

Any C++ programmer with even modest familiarity with the STL will be
instantly at home with Ada's new container library.

Re: Ada, open source software and Linux

[gregg]

Matthew Heaney wrote:

Hello,

> Ada 2005 (which will be finalized sometime this summer) 

Where did you get that news ?

I was wondering about Ada2005 myself
(I'm new to the language, and was considering delaying my in-depth 
learning to start right on with Ada2005)

As for this "SDL-likeness", can't it be considered as an API (just like 
Classes given out with Java, for instance).

++

Re: Ada, open source software and Linux

[Matthew Heaney]

gregg <greggNOSPAMarbage@NOSPAMfree.WANTEDfr> writes:

> > Ada 2005 (which will be finalized sometime this summer)
> 
> Where did you get that news?

I think that's the target date to freeze the RM, but my knowledge is
limited to having attended a few ARG meetings last year.

Randy B. can give you more specific info about language standardization
milestones.


> I was wondering about Ada2005 myself (I'm new to the language, and was
> considering delaying my in-depth learning to start right on with
> Ada2005)

I wouldn't wait, since Ada 2005 is only a modest update of Ada 95.


> As for this "STL-likeness", can't it be considered as an API (just
> like Classes given out with Java, for instance).

Yes, I often refer to AI-302 as "the API."  The most recent draft is
here:

<http://www.ada-auth.org/cgi-bin/cvsweb.cgi/AIs/AI-20302.TXT?rev=1.16>

There's an !examples section that follows the normative section (the API
proper), so I would read through that first to get an idea of what the
container library will do for you.  It might also help you learn the
language more quickly.

Re: Ada, open source software and Linux

[Randy Brukardt]

"Matthew Heaney" <matthewjheaney@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:uhdiflm9j.fsf@earthlink.net...
> gregg <greggNOSPAMarbage@NOSPAMfree.WANTEDfr> writes:
>
> > > Ada 2005 (which will be finalized sometime this summer)
> >
> > Where did you get that news?
>
> I think that's the target date to freeze the RM, but my knowledge is
> limited to having attended a few ARG meetings last year.
>
> Randy B. can give you more specific info about language standardization
> milestones.

I *could*, but I'm awfully busy preparing to meet them (especially with an
ARG meeting in less than a week), and the details are gory and drawn out.
The plan is to finish modifying the standard and start the approval process
this summer. That process has lots of steps! So it's too early to have firm
dates. But the documents are starting to stablize.

                        Randy.