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

[mjsilva@scriptoriumdesigns.com]

On Tuesday, July 2, 2013 1:46:24 AM UTC-7, Dmitry A. Kazakov wrote:
> On Tue, 02 Jul 2013 09:27:40 +0200, Georg Bauhaus wrote:
 
> > Vendors:
> 
> > 
> 
> > I still wonder why not a single vendor sells a Ravenscar run-time
> 
> > with compiler at a hobbyist price, without support.
> 
> 
> 
> Why a hobbyist would even look at Ravenscar?
> 
Because it provides the simple multitasking that a great many projects can benefit from.  And don't get hung up on the "hobbyist" part.  May hobbyists also work in software and hardware, and some of them would surely push for Ada in the workplace if they could only actually use it and demonstrate it.  People will never buy full-priced Ada toolsets if they can't first try it out, and they can't try it out if it's not a download click away.
> 
> 
> IMO, a hobbyist if not obsessed with systems programming, wants full Ada
> 
> and a "normal" OS. This is quite possible to have today. And this is where
> 
> Ada shines, because you can develop and test on a PC and then just
> 
> recompile the code for the embedded target without any changes. At least
> 
> this is the way we do it.

There's a whole world "below" the one you describe, where programs are just a main loop and interrupts, or simple multitasking with a minimal RTOS.  Those applications are at the bottom of the pyramid, but the bottom of the pyramid is also the fattest part of the pyramid.  Ada with Ravenscar would thrive there, if it were only easily and cheaply available.