From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.9 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00 autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,9a8a048ba2cfe26b X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2001-05-17 01:05:03 PST Sender: jerry@TRAVELLER Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Re: porting from Solaris to Windows 2000 References: <_KHM6.241$Rq4.169410@news1.news.adelphia.net> From: Jerry van Dijk Date: 17 May 2001 10:05:01 +0200 Message-ID: X-Newsreader: Gnus v5.7/Emacs 20.7 NNTP-Posting-Host: 139.92.97.184 X-Trace: 17 May 2001 09:11:48 GMT, 139.92.97.184 Organization: Global Network Services - Remote Access Mail & News Services X-Complaints-To: abuse@prserv.net Path: archiver1.sj.google.com!newsfeed.google.com!newsfeed.stanford.edu!news-spur1.maxwell.syr.edu!news.maxwell.syr.edu!news-was.dfn.de!znr.news.ans.net!newsfeed.us.prserv.net!prserv.net!news2.prserv.net!139.92.97.184 Xref: archiver1.sj.google.com comp.lang.ada:7606 Date: 2001-05-17T10:05:01+02:00 List-Id: "Terry Westley" writes: [BTW, my news server just came online again, I hope that this is going out) > In investigating porting a largish Ada application (with lots of Unixy stuff > like shell scripts, Perl, Tcl/Tk, plus an Oracle database) from Solaris to > Windows 2000, Sounds like fun, let me know if you need help. (seriously, I'm trying to start an Ada/Windows consultancy service :-) > it appears that I have at least two options: > > 1) Cygwin > 2) MS Interix > Does anyone have experience with either of these and would like to make a > recommendation? Well, Interix before the MS takeover seemed OK, but it's difficult to say where it will be going in the future. Cygwin is getting quite nice, e.g. now in 1.3.1 you can use .lnk files as symbolic links. I have had no real problems using it. And I hear that people who have the pro version get good support. On the other hand, it's an extra layer of software that you do not control, and it does have an performance impact. It also is still under very active development. And it's not cheap stuff... > Are there other possibilities? Yes. If adding conditional packages to the application is Ok, it's possible that you can use mingw32 directly. Most Un*x calls can replaced by Win32 calls, esp. if they are already supported by existing Ada packages (POSIX, Sockets, and such). Assumimg you want to stay compatible with Solaris. (See for example the december 2000 issue of Dr. Dobbs for a description of the difficulties encountered in porting a fairly low level C++ application from Sun to Windows). Als for perl, tcl/tk, etc. These tools are also available mingw based. (or Win32 based, as MKS). As you realise, it's difficult to say anything concrete without knowing the application in question, and the time and monetary restraints. Also expect some work in the GUI (tk/tcl ?) part, or take the opertunity to move to GtkAda. > We are using GNAT and so I'm also worried about whether there will be any > adverse interaction between Mingw32 and either of cygwin or Interix. 1. I've used cygwin + GNAT a lot, and using cygwin as the toolkit works fine. But don't try to mix compilers or libraries directly :-). But this is a temporary situation as cygwin supports an -mingw flag to produce mingw executables. Once the unified gcc 3.xx appears, this will not be an issue anymore. In the meantime, there are always DLL's :-) 2. It is possible to port GNAT to Interix. Depending on available funding you might send a inquiry to ACT. 3. Seriously consider the full mingw option. It will take some more time up front, but it might be worth it, especially if the application is more widely deployed. It's easy to replace a Tcl/Tk or perl implementation, but with cygwin you become dependent on it. Wishing you a lot of wisdom, Jerry. -- -- Jerry van Dijk | email: jvandyk@attglobal.net -- Leiden, Holland | web: home.trouwweb.nl/Jerry