Re: GNAT Compilation Problems

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

Michael says

"If your intent is to check that a component is entirely up to date
(including bodies), use "gnatmake". If you have only to check
the legality and consistency of one component, then "gnatmake" has
the harmful side-effect of attempting at compiling bodies, and "gcc"
is better.

So, I assert that "gcc" is more often the good choice than "gnatmake"."



The original question was about compiling, and most people think of
generating code when they are compiling. If you just want to check
legality, the best tool is gnatf.

But for most purposes, most people should use gnatmake all the time and
not use gcc directly. The typical cycle is

1. Edit some sources
2. gnatmake the main unit
3. run and test

The reason that gnatf is better than gcc for checking legality is that
(a) you do not have to bother with saying -gnatc
(b) you can check multiple units at the same time
(c) you can generate cross reference information
(d) or minimally, you can check for unused entities