Re: GNAT Question

["chris.danx" <chris.danx@ntlworld.com>]

> >Currently just starting work on it and we're
> >implementing virtual FS support as a file on disk.  We're doing it in C
via
> >DJGPP but i hate C,
>
> BTW, If I were you, I'd use something other than DOS to do
> the development work on.  Compiling in Unix and testing on a PC
> simulator (such as Bochs) should help things go a lot smoother

I would do if i could.  My unfamiliarity with Unix means i can't really do
things this way.  Plus my OS development partner seems to like windows.  I'd
really like to do the OS in Ada, i'm afraid i might be stuck with C.  Don't
know if i can persuade him to change to Ada.  Don't know if he knows any
Ada, come to think of it.

I'm implementing the BFS file system as a file on disk {maybe i mentioned it
before} and was going to do it in Ada first, then once i'm sure it works
re-write the thing in C.  Maybe not a good idea.  BFS is a nightmare anyway!
Does GNAT support writing raw binary data to disk?  I really need to know
this!

> >The info seems to suggest that you can't use
> >GNAT, and the development of an Ada compiler for this kinda thing is
needed.
>
> Actually the reason they are building a compiler from scratch is
> because the founder of that project (Nick Roberts) wants to write
> an Ada compiler.  The reason he wants to write an operating system
> is because he doesn't think any existing operating system nicely
> supports Ada compilers.
>
> In other words, he is creating the operating system to support the
compiler;
> his compiler is not needed to write an operating system.

I must have picked things up wrong.  Maybe i'm also picking this up wrong
but i looked at the project and saw that some of it wasn't planned to be
written in Ada.  I know the bootstrap needs Assembly, but i'd think (almost)
everything else could be done in Ada.  I'm probably wrong about this aswell.


Thanks for the info,
Chris Campbell

p.s. now we just got to figure out what to call the OS!  ARES was suggested
but it sounds too much like ARSE as has already been pointed out on
alt.os.development.  We need suggestions.  Something clever or funny.  Any
suggestions would be appreciated.