Re: How do I go about creating a minimal GNAT runtime?

["Randy Brukardt" <randy@rrsoftware.com>]

"anon" <anon@anon.org> wrote in message 
news:R7Bql.409687$Mh5.142056@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
> You need to understand what this person means by "minimal GNAT runtime"
> system. From his web site, he means no Linux, Windows or other OS, aka
> the Ada program is the OS and all libraries must be static.  That is,
> until he creates a dynamic or shared library loader, but that means he
> first must build a storage device driver with a file system.

I understand exactly that. But you chose to ignore my point...

> A problem with GNAT and this design is that GNAT uses around 50 packages 
> ...

...which is that GNAT is *not* designed for this sort of use. Yes, it can be 
made to fit it, sort of, but it wasn't designed to minimize code size / 
runtime size in the way that some other compilers (like Janus/Ada) were.

The old saw "Patient: it hurts if I do X. Doctor: Don't do X." surely 
applies here. If it is hard to do something with GNAT, use a more 
appropriate tool. No compiler can be good at *everything*.

...
> All of this means it a big job.  This could help to explain why Adacores
> charges $15K per years for someone to get those special runtime system
> with GNAT PRO series.

We used to have a bare-machine version of Janus/Ada, as did many other Ada 
vendors, but they were all dropped due to lack of demand. Which is probably 
why GNAT has a design that makes that hard - they didn't think it was that 
important. It takes $$$ to show that sort of interest.

                             Randy.