Re: Help with embedded hardware/software platform selection for ADA

[Marcus F <trenatos@gmail.com>]

On Friday, June 14, 2013 10:39:33 AM UTC-5, Max Herman wrote:
> Hello, 
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> I need to pick a platform (basically a micro processor) that will be able to run object code compiled from the ADA source code. I will design a custom board (basically a single board computer) with all required equipment and interfaces. The platform shall be fan-less, support at least 64Mb RAM and 64 Mb Flash, CPU should be at least 400Mhz. OS, or run-time environment should be minimal, and take very little time to boot (1-5 seconds), so Android will most likely not gonna work. 
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> Based on the research I did, it seemed like Cortex A8/9 series CPU is ideal for such application, plus I have some experience working with them (ASM and C only). 
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> The problem I ran into: ADA Compiler. I have ADA code that I will need to build, and run on this embedded platform. I did some research, and found that ADACore has press release about bare metal ADA Compiler (now talking to them), and some other project that offer a possibility of doing this, such as Ada_Bare_bones, RTEMSAda, Ada Microkernel. 
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> Did anyone had any luck in using ADA for Application like this? 
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> What would be the best hardware platform (x86, ARM, SPARK, etc). 
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> What would be the best OS/RTE for the application like this?
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> Are there any off-the-shelf SBC kits that support ADA and backed by manufacturer support?
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> I'll appreciate any suggestions!

I'm looking around, and I have to ask: Why is it so hard to find information on getting started with embedded ADA?

If I search for "Getting started with C on embedded devices" I find instructions that would have me up and running in no-time, but so far I haven't been able to find any kind of guide, tutorial, or barely even suggestions.

It's not strange that people new to embedded systems are looking to C and other languages, they can easily find information about it and get started quickly.