jet@karazm.math.uh.edu ("J. Eric Townsend") (01/29/91)
I've added comp.lang.ada, please keep this in mind when you followup. In article <16098@sdcc6.ucsd.edu> djohnson@beowulf.ucsd.edu (Darin Johnson) writes: >Of course, I know some people who would be perfectly willing to use >inexpensive unvalidated Ada compilers, or even not-quite-Ada, since >then development could be done on workstations, etc. Roll your own. Ada is close enough to Pascal (really!) that it's pretty straightforward to pirate across a good Pascal compiler. In my undergraduate compilers class, we had to generate assembly for an ada-subset language (missing all the thread-type stuff and difficult-to-code user niceties, etc). In the space of a semester, I was able to manage function calls, exceptions (or whatever ada calls them) and a couple of other things. An experienced compiler person should need only 6-12 months, I'd *guess*. I actually have considered writing a ada-subset (keep in mind that "Ada" is legally protected to the point that you can't sell an "Ada compiler") compiler, but I can't justify the time expenditure. Ada-flames to /dev/null, I really don't care to argue about Ada good or bad. It's just another language. -- J. Eric Townsend - jet@uh.edu - bitnet: jet@UHOU - vox: (713) 749-2120 "It is the cunning of form to veil itself continually in the evidence of content. It is the cunning of the code to veil itself and to produce itself in the obviousness of value." -- Baudrillard
mfeldman@seas.gwu.edu (Michael Feldman) (02/01/91)
In article <1991Jan29.051947.27478@lavaca.uh.edu> jet@karazm.math.uh.edu ("J. Eric Townsend") writes: > >>Of course, I know some people who would be perfectly willing to use >>inexpensive unvalidated Ada compilers, or even not-quite-Ada, since >>then development could be done on workstations, etc. > >I actually have considered writing a ada-subset (keep in mind that >"Ada" is legally protected to the point that you can't sell >an "Ada compiler") compiler, but I can't justify the time expenditure. I think your information on this may be outdated. The government has allowed the trademark to lapse; the essence of it is if you want to sell unvalidated Ada and I want to buy it, Uncle Sam shouldn't stop us from making a deal. _Validated_ Ada is required for _government_ software, but for nongovernment work the government does not get involved any more. Ada is _no longer_ "legally protected"; the trademark lapsed in 1988. IMHO, the government did the right thing. Mike Feldman