Re: SGI Developer Magic - Ada95

["David C. Hoos, Sr." <david.c.hoos.sr@ada95.com>]

Viqar Abbasi wrote in message <35ABDCDF.7B8F@cae.ca>...
>Has anyone out there used the "SGI Developer Magic ProDev Ada95"
>compiler?
>
>The information provided on the SGI website
>(http://www.sgi.com/Products/DevMagic/products/project_ada95.html)
>seems to indicate that its the tool for the task at hand.
>
>The task at hand is to incorporate Ada into large infrastructure
>based in C and Fortran, on the SGI Irix platform.  I want to
>call the Ada from C and Fortran, without any limitations.
>The Verdix compiler we have now doesn't allow "in out" parameters
>in procedures.. just "out" parameters.  Also, we're able to link
>and run basic programs in GNAT... but have been having other
>problems with newer versions of GNAT.  The last stable version
>seems to be 3.09.  Therefore, we're a bit GNAT-wary.
>
>We don't need all the graphical-debugger and fancy stuff like
>that provided by SGI.  We just want a stable, robust Ada compiler,
>which produces object files we can link in with our existing software.
>Is SGI Ada95 the answer?

SGI Ada95 id gnat-based.  A year-and-a-half ago, I began a substantial
project with SGI Version 1.2 which was (if memory serves me correctly) gnat
3.07-based, and later I upgraded with a patch provided on the SGI web site
which upgraded to gnat 3.09.

SGI provides some libraies -- e.g., a Posix binding based on the
now-obsolete forest -- which are not part of the public gnat releases.

SGI Version 1.3 is now in beta, but since I have been involved in a Solaris
project for several months, I haven't looked at 1.3 yet, so don't know on
which gnat version it's based.

On another SGI project with which I am involved we had been using the latest
public release (3.10), but because we needed some problems fixed we
purchased a support contract, and have been using "wavefront" releases of
3.11.

The thing which was particularly attractive to us in January 1997 about the
SGI version 1.2 was the GUI-based debugger which was much superior to the
Ada-aware GDB available at that time.

Also, debugging of tasks was made easier by the sproc-based tasking model,
and I imagine that SGI was able to leverage sproc-based thread debugging for
other languages in implementing the Ada debugger.

With regard to your comment about the Verdix limitation on procedure
parameter types -- I believe you're talking about procedures implemented by
means of pragma Interface or exported to be called by other languages by
means of pragma Export.  I seem to remember the limitation, and I know we
worked around it, but I don't rememeber the details.

My own experience (for what it's worth) is that the gnat product is as good
as anything else out there (and better in many respects).  I don't feel
you'll find better support than what you can get from a gnat support
contract.  I still have some outstanding unfixed Verdix bugs which go back
four years.

I hope this helps.

David C. Hoos, Sr.