Re: GNAT R/T Annex and Win95

[dewar@cs.nyu.edu (Robert Dewar)]

Dave Wood said

"Marin, you might also consider looking into ObjectAda for Windows from
Thomson Software Products, which is currently in beta release.  This
is the first (and still the only... *wink*) validated Ada 95 compiler
for Windows 95 and Windows NT.  This validation was awarded last
December and includes the real-time annex."

It is interesting to note that the Thomson compiler for NT is validated
for the full real-time annex. Actually there is one respect in which
there is a slight clash between the RT annex requirements and NT,
which is that the RT annex requires 32 priority levels, and there are
only 7 (suitable) levels in NT.

During the rather extended conversation about whether this discrepancy
was enough to say that NT could not meet the RT annex requires, or
whether this is a legitimate capacity-type restriction, I and others
insisted that Ada's definition of real time should be broad enough
to accomodate the NT approach. Ada would do itself no good being
too legalistic here. 

It's good to see that the AVO agreed, and that the Thomson compiler
is RT validated. Sure, this compiler won't meet *all* real-time
requirements, probably no compiler will, but it will meet many
real-time requirements, and if NT real-time applications are going
to me written, writing them in Ada makes sense!