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: 103376,33a6944ba1b879de X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2002-12-06 04:48:27 PST Path: archiver1.google.com!news1.google.com!newsfeed.stanford.edu!logbridge.uoregon.edu!arclight.uoregon.edu!wn14feed!wn12feed!worldnet.att.net!207.217.77.102!newsfeed2.earthlink.net!newsfeed.earthlink.net!stamper.news.pas.earthlink.net!stamper.news.atl.earthlink.net!harp.news.atl.earthlink.net!not-for-mail From: "Marin David Condic" Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Re: Modern copy of GNAT for OpenVMS? Date: Fri, 6 Dec 2002 07:48:19 -0500 Organization: MindSpring Enterprises Message-ID: References: <3DEF8BDB.7050009@acm.org> NNTP-Posting-Host: d1.56.a0.3c X-Server-Date: 6 Dec 2002 12:48:27 GMT X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2314.1300 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2314.1300 Xref: archiver1.google.com comp.lang.ada:31484 Date: 2002-12-06T12:48:27+00:00 List-Id: Jeffrey Carter wrote in message news:3DEF8BDB.7050009@acm.org... > > Most VAX/DEC/Compaq Ada code can be recompiled unchanged with GNAT, > which is available for Linux or Windows on PCs, as well as for VMS on > Alphas. > I have noted some slight differences in the past, but usually, portability between DEC Ada and Gnat Ada was pretty good. The *real* problem is how seriously hooked into the OS and other platform specific features is the application at hand. The OP didn't say anything about that, and that's where all the serious issues will lie. I've ported code that did nothing beyond a command line interface & a bunch of computations and had it compile/execute right out of the box. When I've thrown in access to files of a non-text nature, I've had problems with byte sex and other binary representation issues. (Yes, you can design for this, but often portability is not an issue when the program is first built.) Once the application starts getting into OS features like a GUI interface, network services, etc., you can forget portability. At that point the amount of trouble one will have depends on how well isolated the accesses to the OS were built. Aside: Wouldn't it be nice to have a *standard* way of getting at various "normal" OS services like networking and a GUI? Vast amounts of software these days take advantage of that sort of thing, but then must become bound to the OS that provides it. Portability starts becoming a pipe dream. MDC -- ====================================================================== Marin David Condic I work for: http://www.belcan.com/ My project is: http://www.jast.mil/ Send Replies To: m c o n d i c @ a c m . o r g "I'd trade it all for just a little more" -- Charles Montgomery Burns, [4F10] ======================================================================