Re Towards a free GNU Ada

Re Towards a free GNU Ada

[Robert C. Leif, Ph.D.]

To: James Rogers, Prof. Robert Dewar,  et al.
From: Bob Leif, Ph.D.

James Rogers wrote: (I added the numbering to the suggestions)
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Date:    Thu, 3 Jul 1997 08:28:20 -0600
From:    James Rogers <jrogers@VELVEETA.APDEV.CS.MCI.COM>
Subject: Towards a free GNU Ada
SNIP
Perhaps it is time to remove some conflict from the ACT charter.
It seems the only way to do this is to either find a continuing
source of funding for development and maintenance of GNAT, or to
find some alternate group to perform maintenance of a public
version of GNAT, effectively creating a separate version from the
product produced by ACT.

I see a list of possible responses to this problem:

1. * Use gnat3.09 for a long long time

2. * Form a consortium of GNAT users, with annual dues which will be
  paid to ACT to provide public support for GNAT

3. * Abandon the concept of a free Ada compiler and purchase all our
  compilers from AONIX, JANUS, Intermetrics, Rational, ACT, etc

4. * Organize a distributed group of Ada compiler developers to take
  over development of a free Ada compiler, resulting in a second
  branch of Gnu Ada development.  Such an effort would likely be
  haphazard and uncoordinated, resulting in questionable quality
  and lack of responsibility for compiler defects.

SNIP to end.
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I favor  suggestion 2.  I suspect that most of the users of GNAT and
Readers of Comp.Lang.Ada also favor suggestion 2.  The main problem is that
ACT is not set up to economically support a large number of users at a low
cost.  In fact, there may be no profitable simple solution to this problem.
 The most cost effective approach is to minimize the need for support by
making the product including its error messages as customer friendly as
possible.

I do believe that the SigAda chapters should assist with the support of Ada
products including GNAT by including a help session as part of their
programs. This has recently been instituted for San Diego SigAda.  This is
absolutely nothing new. The very first microcomputer club I ever attended
had a help session.  Of course, help should be given for any Ada product
where there is someone knowledgable.

I have only one problem with suggestion 2.  I believe that any useful
additions to a compiler that are initially made for GNAT and are NOT funded
by ACT should be copyrighted in a form that they can be used by other Ada
vendors. This includes being incorporated into these vendors commercial
products.  The cost to the other Ada vendors should be the same as that
bourn by ACT.

In short, I believe that we small operators and independent users should
financially reimburse ACT, but at a reasonable price, and in a manner to
maintain competition in the Ada compiler business.

Yours,
Bob Leif

Re: Re Towards a free GNU Ada

[Robert Dewar]

What you suggest is contrary to the GPL, and remember the government
required the use of the GPL for GNAT! not ACT!

Re: Re Towards a free GNU Ada

[Robert Dewar]

For things that are completely independnet like runtime routines,
it is entirely up to the author how they copyright them.