Re: some questions on installing Ada on Linux

[brbarkstrom@gmail.com]

On Friday, July 4, 2014 6:16:10 AM UTC-4, Nasser M. Abbasi wrote:
> some basic questions. Goggling these is giving me hard so
> 
> I thought I ask here.
> 
> 
> 
> What is the correct way to install Ada on Linux these days?
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> I am on Linux mint 17.
> 
> 
> 
> 1) Should one install GNAT on Linux by downloading tar files from
> 
> http://libre.adacore.com  (GPL 2014 edition) or use
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> 
> 
>    sudo apt-get install gnat-4.8
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> 
> 
> 2) Will the sudo installation install all the stuff listed at
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> libre.adacore.com? including GPS editor and all the other
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> packages?
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> 
> 
> 3) Which is more recent, gnat-4.8 or GPL 2014 edition?
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> 
> 
> 4) When I go to http://libre.adacore.com/download/configurations
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> is there a way to tell it to check everything for download,
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> without one having to spend 1 hr clicking on the check-box
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> for each item? I do not see "select all"
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> 
> 
> It is really confusing having Ada/GNAT in 2 different places.
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> Why not have one place to install Ada from so it is less
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> confusing to users?
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> 
> 
> --Nasser

In my Ada coding, I deprecate the Debian package and only use gnat, gcc,
and so on from the AdaCore download.  As I suggested, I value the consistency
with the Ada RM specs on library configurations more than I value the ease
of integrating with other languages or other packages.  The decision on
what to do is complex.  It doesn't just boil down to GPL versus other
licenses.

Bruce B.