Re: Ada Libraries (was Re: howto make system calls (newbie question))

["Randy Brukardt" <randy@rrsoftware.com>]

Marin David Condic wrote in message <9domjk$h4t$1@nh.pace.co.uk>...
>It may already be done in Claw, which is great for Windows based stuff,
but
>doesn't help much for non windows systems. Originally this came up as a
>discussion about some sort of standardized library of stuff that would
>generally be available to all Ada compilers. Sort of like being able to
>count on the class libraries in Java. (Data structures, math stuff,
>communications, etc. Anything that could reasonably be expected to work
on
>most systems to which Ada is targeted.) The question would be, how
easily
>would the Claw.Sockets stuff port to - say - a Linux environment? And
what
>is the liklihood that Claw.Sockets could be bundled up with a bunch of
other
>things and put under some sort of GPL-ish license so that compiler
vendors
>would be free to distribute it with their product?

Sockets stuff isn't very Windows specific; the implementation would of
course need to be redone for other systems.

As far as the license goes, the question is more whether the license
would allow vendors to distribute it with their compilers. Indeed, I
would expect a GPL license to PREVENT most of the vendors from
distributing it. (GPL poisoning, anyone?)

It was always our intent that Claw be distributed with compilers, indeed
it is distributed with Janus/Ada, and the introductory version is
distributed with Rational Apex and it also is on the ASE CD-ROM (as well
as our website).

In any case, I was responding more to the notion that "someone needs to
design" a O-O sockets library -- that's been done. Not that Claw.Sockets
as it stands would actually be the answer to everyone's needs.

Hopefully, this will be one of the areas that will be addressed in Ada
0y. As directory operations already is.

                Randy Brukardt.