[comp.lang.ada] Ada Interface to X Window System

geb@amber.Rational.COM (Gary Barnes) (03/09/90)

A couple of weeks ago I posted this inquiry to comp.windows.x; it occurs to
me that comp.lang.ada is also an appropriate forum.  So...

Is there a group at the MIT Consortium or elsehwere that is working on an
"Ada Language Interface" to things like Xlib and Xt?

I know that there exist various "skins" that allow Ada programs to access
a large fraction of the existing "C Language Interface" as a foreign interface.
What I'm looking for is a group that is working on a real-live "native"
Ada Language Interface.

I would classify things like DEC's Ada binding and SAIC's Ada binding as an
"Ada Interface to the C Language Interface".  They are written in terms of
types with C semantics which are not directly accessable to the Ada programs
and they generally have C'ish characteristics.  They also have the unfortunate
characteristic that portions of the underlying interface aren't covered by the
skin.  Typically this portion deals with the resource manager and
procedure-variables or callbacks.

Does there exist a group working on a straight "Ada Language Interface"?
Their work would presumably result in an Ada implementation of Xlib and an Ada
implementation of Xt that allowed Ada programmers to create new widgets
entirely in Ada without having to mix the modules and runtimes of Ada and C.

Anyone working on this?  Anyone want to work on this?

Gary E. Barnes				geb@Rational.com