From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-0.4 required=5.0 tests=AC_FROM_MANY_DOTS,BAYES_00 autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,ea451393a6c97734 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2001-04-19 14:16:47 PST Path: supernews.google.com!newsfeed.google.com!newsfeed.stanford.edu!news.tele.dk!193.251.151.101!opentransit.net!wanadoo.fr!isdnet!psinet-france!psiuk-f4!psiuk-p4!uknet!psiuk-n!news.pace.co.uk!nh.pace.co.uk!not-for-mail From: "Marin David Condic" Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Re: Mixing Cygnus & Gnat compilers on the same machine Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2001 16:59:08 -0400 Organization: Posted on a server owned by Pace Micro Technology plc Message-ID: <9bnjit$b2c$1@nh.pace.co.uk> References: <9bkd51$530$1@nh.pace.co.uk> <3ADDEEAA.D8F16935@bigfoot.de> <9bkt30$asm$1@nh.pace.co.uk> <3ADE4B03.68BA6651@bigfoot.de> <9bmphh$1jt$1@nh.pace.co.uk> <3ADF3498.37521D1B@earthlink.net> NNTP-Posting-Host: 136.170.200.133 X-Trace: nh.pace.co.uk 987713949 11340 136.170.200.133 (19 Apr 2001 20:59:09 GMT) X-Complaints-To: newsmaster@pace.co.uk NNTP-Posting-Date: 19 Apr 2001 20:59:09 GMT X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.50.4522.1200 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.50.4522.1200 Xref: supernews.google.com comp.lang.ada:7019 Date: 2001-04-19T20:59:09+00:00 List-Id: Well, that's kind of where my thinking was going. On the one hand, you get the Ada front-end out in front of a whole bunch of people who otherwise may never have heard of Ada or at least had no inclination to ever play with it. You also get a large proliferation of back-ends that might otherwise not have been supported. (Such as in my case where I have an embedded Mips already using gcc - now I've got Ada as an alternative...) The pie gets substantially wider and starts creating an environment bigger than the sum of its parts. (Dare I use the words "synergy" or "critical mass"? Will I get points on my Bulls**t Bingo card? :-) Offering someone a compiler that can process N languages into code for M targets becomes a more valuable asset as N and M get bigger. (Will ACT start supporting C++ and get accused of selling out?) On the other hand, your once monolithic product now has to "play nice with others". You don't automatically get everything you want done to the gcc implementation unless you're willing to once again diverge from the crowd and go your own way. Because your front-end is now just a small part of a much bigger product, companies that otherwise might not have had any reason to compete with you suddenly might. (Cygnus automatically having the Ada front-end bundled into their compiler might now be in a position to offer support to ACT customers they might have otherwise ignored.) Competition reduces margins and (while the consumer wins) the producer's life gets harder. Sure, anybody could pick up the Gnat code and start supporting it if they wanted to, but there are a lot of barriers to doing so. Once its integrated with gcc, some of those barriers come down. >From *my* perspective, I'd really want the integration to happen. (Although the time scales might never be attractive!) From the perspective of ACT (or any other supplier, for that matter) I could imagine reasons why this might not be something one would want to do. It depends on where you think you'll make your gains to offset the losses. Do you make enough from selling/supporting related tools that *aren't* part of gcc that you make up for the customers who may get their support elsewhere? Are your tools & services of sufficient added value that other competitors can't match them any time soon? Does the wider market let you steal away business you otherwise wouldn't go for? Can your marketing, sales and support infrastructure actually handle a big increase in (potential) customers? I'm only bringing these things up to observe that it isn't a foregone conclusion that integrating with the Gnu gcc is automatically a benefit to ACT. MDC -- Marin David Condic Senior Software Engineer Pace Micro Technology Americas www.pacemicro.com Enabling the digital revolution e-Mail: marin.condic@pacemicro.com Web: http://www.mcondic.com/ "Marc A. Criley" wrote in message news:3ADF3498.37521D1B@earthlink.net... > ACT is actively involved in making this happen. And I think ACT would > be hard-pressed to find a downside to putting the product on which their > business is based in front of a much wider audience :-) (Unless it were > to engender a competing GNAT support company.) >