Open-Source Ada: From Gateware to Application (opens in new tab)

(blog.adacore.com)

63 pointsBogdanp4mo ago11 comments

11 comments

This is specifically for hardware. Looks really cool!

I’ve always been confused about Ada the language and its licensing though. I know this project is open source but is the language as well? It’s unclear to me, though I may be missing information

tremon4mo ago

What do you mean with "is the language open source"? The Ada specification is public [0] but not open source -- but the C and C++ specifications are not open source either, in the normal sense of the term. And like with C and C++, there are both open source and proprietary compilers for Ada, see e.g. [1]

What's mostly not open source (FAFAIK) is SPARK, the formal verification framework for Ada.

[0] https://www.adaic.org/ada-resources/standards/ada22/

[1] https://github.com/ohenley/awesome-ada#compilers

i-con4mo ago

SPARK tools are also open source. The main tool `gnatprove` is based on GCC as well. https://github.com/AdaCore/spark2014

It's not a community project, AFAICT. Few people know how to build it from source.

1 more reply

RossBencina4mo ago

The C++ (draft) standards are open source:

https://github.com/cplusplus/draft

Last time I looked I could not find an equivalent repository for the C standards.

1 more reply

i-con4mo ago

If you are looking for an open-source compiler, many distros (e.g. Archlinux, Debian and derivatives) bootstrap a full GCC (GNU compiler collection). Sometimes you have to install a particular packet, e.g. `gnat` or `gcc-ada`. There's also a language-specific packet tool `alire` that seems to aim to be somewhat like cargo. It can also install toolchains, IIRC.

pjmlp4mo ago

Just as open as COBOL, Fortran, C and C++.

As ISO standards driven language with multiple implementations, commercial and open source ones.

The open source one is part of GCC.

homarp4mo ago

you have GNAT https://www.getadanow.com/ which is part of GNU compilers

some discussion https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27313294

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

11 comments

no_wizard4mo ago

This is specifically for hardware. Looks really cool!

I’ve always been confused about Ada the language and its licensing though. I know this project is open source but is the language as well? It’s unclear to me, though I may be missing information

tremon4mo ago

What's mostly not open source (FAFAIK) is SPARK, the formal verification framework for Ada.

[0] https://www.adaic.org/ada-resources/standards/ada22/

[1] https://github.com/ohenley/awesome-ada#compilers

i-con4mo ago

SPARK tools are also open source. The main tool `gnatprove` is based on GCC as well. https://github.com/AdaCore/spark2014

It's not a community project, AFAICT. Few people know how to build it from source.

1 more reply

RossBencina4mo ago

The C++ (draft) standards are open source:

https://github.com/cplusplus/draft

Last time I looked I could not find an equivalent repository for the C standards.

1 more reply

i-con4mo ago

pjmlp4mo ago

Just as open as COBOL, Fortran, C and C++.

As ISO standards driven language with multiple implementations, commercial and open source ones.

The open source one is part of GCC.

homarp4mo ago

you have GNAT https://www.getadanow.com/ which is part of GNU compilers

some discussion https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27313294

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse