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=-1.3 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,INVALID_MSGID autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,ef33c33c4f98bde1 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public From: "Robert C. Leif, Ph.D." Subject: RE: Compiler for Z80/6510 Date: 1999/11/29 Message-ID: #1/1 X-Deja-AN: 554747328 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit References: <3842C8FD.5EFB9685@pwfl.com> To: , X-Priority: 3 (Normal) Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2314.1300 X-Complaints-To: usenet@enst.fr Importance: Normal X-Trace: menuisier.enst.fr 943944854 24375 137.194.161.2 (30 Nov 1999 06:54:14 GMT) Organization: ENST, France X-BeenThere: comp.lang.ada@ada.eu.org X-MSMail-Priority: Normal Mime-Version: 1.0 Reply-To: comp.lang.ada@ada.eu.org NNTP-Posting-Date: 30 Nov 1999 06:54:14 GMT Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Date: 1999-11-30T06:54:14+00:00 List-Id: From: Bob Leif To: Marin David Condic One reasonable approach is to host a Java virtual machine (J code interpreter) on the 8 or 16 bit processor. Then use an Ada J code compiler. On a significant project, this should produce a smaller memory requirement then a regular compiler. If it does not, there are significant design flaws in the J code interpreter. In the real-world, it may be necessary to employ significant restrictions on the Ada compiler and possibly minimize the size of the J code interpreter. I must also add that in the past many microprocessors including the original PC CPU used a 16 bit internal chip with an 8 bit bus. One could replace an 8 bit chip with a 32 bit chip, providing the new chip had the same pinout and could send and read data in the old format. -----Original Message----- From: condicma@bogon.pwfl.com [mailto:condicma@bogon.pwfl.com] Sent: Monday, November 29, 1999 10:42 AM To: comp.lang.ada@ada.eu.org Subject: Re: Compiler for Z80/6510 Lutz Donnerhacke wrote: > Does anyone know a working Ada95 compiler for Z80 (U880) and 6510/6502 > microcontrolers? It's pretty sad that there was a near zero useful response to this question. (The most useful being from Tucker Taft regarding the Ada-toC compiler). This so quickly degenerated into a discussion about Ada vs Assembler that one wonders if maybe this is a smoke screen to cover up the embarrassing real answer that "No. There are no Ada compilers for small microcontrollers." To the best of my knowledge, this is a true statement - I've asked the question myself many times and I would *love* to be told that I'm wrong and here's the compiler to prove it. You will find any number of people who will tell you how there is no theoretical roadblock to making such a compiler. However, when you get around to saying "Show me one" the subject seems to quickly change to something like instruction set architectures, the relative efficiency of assembly programming or why C sucks. It must be too difficult/expensive to do for the perceived size of the market or somebody would have retargeted their compiler by now and started hawking it in conjunction with a microcontroller. I think it would be very useful to have a microcontroller card with an Ada compiler targeted to it, hosted on a PC and at an affordable price. I think that as a package, it would do much to promote Ada within the embedded programming world. One successful development could sell hundreds-of-thousands of the microcontroller card and generate a royalty for the RTK for the compiler. (Sort of like cutting a hit record and watching it go platinum!) The sad news is that while you can find dozens of off the shelf controller cards with a whole kit for developing the software in C from a PC, (and generally under $500, so a garage startup can afford the development kit!) you won't likely find anything similar in Ada. If you do, I'd be most grateful to hear about it. MDC -- Marin David Condic Only two more days and this address is defunct! See my web page if you want to contact me...: Real Time & Embedded Systems, Propulsion Systems Analysis United Technologies, Pratt & Whitney, Large Military Engines M/S 731-95, P.O.B. 109600, West Palm Beach, FL, 33410-9600 ***To reply, remove "bogon" from the domain name.*** Visit my web page at: http://www.mcondic.com/