News
Dirk Craeynest (ed)
Offis nv/sa and K U Leuven. Email Dirk.Craeynest@offis.be
Contents
Ada-related Organizations
Ada Semantic Interface
Specification (ASIS)
Ada-related Resources
Ada-related Tools
page
1
1
1
3
Ada-related
Organizations
Ada Resource Association
(ARA) support for Ada
From: Tucker Taft
<stt@MX1.INMET.COM>
Date: Wed, 17 Nov 1999 13:56:11 -0500
To: TEAM-ADA@ACM.ORG
Randy Brukardt recommended that I
reply in my role as president of the Ada
Resource Association (ARA) about the
kinds of things we are doing to promote
Ada. Here are the five main things we
do:
1) Fund the deployment and
maintenance of the Ada Information
Clearinghouse web site
(http://www.adaic.org)
2) Support the ISO WG9 Ada
Rapporteur Group by providing funds for
Randy Brukardt to attend their meetings,
and to maintain the various issues,
commentaries, technical reports, and
amendment proposals relating to Ada 95.
3) Support the Ada Conformity
Assessment Authority (Randy again ;-) in
its role of maintaining the ACATS (aka
ACVC) suite of tests, and in overseeing
conformance assessment activities for
Ada compilers.
4) Support SIGAda, primarily through
supporting the appearance of their booth
at various *non* Ada conferences, and
through grants to students working with
SIGAda and/or the SIGAda web site.
5) Support Ann Brandon, an Adasavvy technical writer and public
relations consultant, in the creation of
press releases, white papers, success
stories, and magazine articles relating to
Ada. Ann has also helped others who
have been interested in writing articles
about Ada for the popular press. If you
would like Ann to review an article you
are planning to submit somewhere, she
can be reached at:
mailto:abrandon@sover.net
A da Us er J o ur na l
Unfortunately, the ARA has a rather
limited budget (approximately
$75K/year), and a majority of our funds
are already tied up supporting Ada
"infrastructure" things like the ARG and
the ACAA, so full scale advertising
campaigns are not practical. Most people
agree that articles and news items in the
popular press are more cost-effective than
are pure advertising, so we have focused
our public relations money there.
Suggestions for other cost effective ways
to promote Ada are very welcome. Send
your thoughts to me
(mailto:stt@averstar.com) or Ann (see
above).
-Tucker Taft stt@averstar.com
Ada-related Events
SIGAda'99 Daily
Newsletters
From: Hal Hart <Hal.Hart@TRW.COM>
Date: Tue, 16 Nov 1999 17:56:53 -0800
To: TEAM-ADA@ACM.ORG X-cc: SIGAda
Announcements <SIGAdaAnnounce@ACM.ORG>
[...]
PS: To relive last month's successful
SIGAda'99 via its daily newsletters, go
visit
http://www.acm.org/sigada/conf/sigada99
/Ada-WOW :-)
-hh (Hal.Hart@ACM.ORG)
operation where the update would take
place.
This tool is an ASIS program that runs
where any ObjectAda Windows native or
cross compiler has created a library. It is
available at no charge and is unsupported.
It's purpose:
- Raise awareness of the kinds of
external custom tools that can be created
with ASIS.
- Let you know that AONIX can
create similar custom tools to meet your
specific requirements.
This simple check is just the tip of the
iceberg when looking at the wide
domains of possible code analysis tools.
While it would seem nice for the
compiler to do this and other kinds of
checking, I would suggest that the
compiler would quickly become too
encumbered trying to perform any
significant number of these kinds of
analysis. Placing the responsibility on
external tools has a number of
advantages: flexibility, customization,
implementation turnaround, and
simplicity.
Enough marketing.
If you would like a copy of this tool
just send me email: sblake@aonix.com.
Since ASIS will be available in the
new 7.2 release (enterprize edition), the
source code for this tool will also be
provided if you want it.
I would like to see further discussion
in this email forum regarding other kinds
of checks, warnings, and static analysis
you would like to see. I am collecting
such requirements for a new "Ada Lint"
tool.
Ada Semantic Interface
Specification (ASIS)
Rational Supports ASIS ISO
Standard
Tool to Check Uninitialized
Out Parameters
From: Currie Colket <colket@colket.org>
Date: Wed, 13 Oct 1999 16:33:04 -0400
To: SIGADA-ASIS@ACM.ORG
From: "Steve Blake @pulsar"
<sblake@sd.aonix.com>
Date: Mon, 11 Oct 1999 16:37:57 -0700
(PDT)
To: intel-objectada@sf.aonix.com
The recent discussion about warnings
for out mode parameters that are never
assigned has prompted a simple offer. I
have created a tool that will analyze all
the compilation units in your current
library and issue warnings when out
mode parameters are not assigned or not
passed as actual parameters to another
Dear ASISWG/ASISRG, Team-Ada,
SIGAda-Announce, HRG:
Great News! Rational has joined the
ranks of ASIS implementors supporting
the ASIS ISO Standard:
ISO/IEC 15291:1999 Information
technology - Programming languages Ada Semantic Interface Specification
(ASIS)
Steve Deller of Rational has
announced that "Apex 3.2 fully supports
ASIS 2.0, and continues backward
compatibility support of the ASIS 1.1 and
ASIS 1.2 Ada 83 interfaces."
V ol um e 22 , N um ber 1, M arc h 2 00 1
2
Implementors claiming conformance
to the ASIS ISO Standard now include
ACT, AONIX, and Rational. Tools
written on one conforming environment
should be easily ported to other
conforming environments. This should be
of benefit to the entire Ada community.
Each vendor will be exhibiting at
SIGAda'99. Please stop by at the ACT,
AONIX, and Rational Booths at
SIGAda'99 for additional information on
their ASIS implementations.
Detailed questions about the Rational
ASIS implementation can also be
directed to the Apex marketing team at
the apex_mktg@Rational.com email
address.
We welcome Rational as the latest
ASIS implementor!
v/r Currie Colket Chair
ASISWG/ASISRG
ASIS for GNAT 3.12p
From: Robert Dewar <robert_dewar@mydeja.com>
Date: Thu, 21 Oct 1999 17:48:28 GMT
Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada
[ On the new public GNAT 3.12p
release: see also further in the "Adarelated Products" section. -- dc ]
Robert Dewar <dewar@gnat.com>
wrote: > A new public release of GNAT
version 3.12p, is now available at >
ftp://cs.nyu.edu/pub/gnat
The matching 3.12p of ASIS is now
available.
Ada-related Resources
Software Engineering and
Ada Links
From: Ehud Lamm
<mslamm@mscc.huji.ac.il>
Date: Sat, 25 Sep 1999 14:28:18 +0300
Organization: The hebrew University of
Jerusalem
Subject: Site Update Newsgroups:
comp.lang.ada,comp.softwareeng,comp.human-factors,
comp.software.measurement
My list of SE and Ada links has been
updated. It contains 180 links to various
Ada and SE sites (categories: Ada
related sites, Gerneral SE, New
Paradigms in SE, Other Prog. Lang. of
interest, patterns, readings, OOP, User
Interface/HCI, Metrics, Misc.)
The list is by no means complete, of
course, but may still be useful to readers
of this group.
Direct link:
http://purl.oclc.org/NET/ehudsite/ada/semisc.html [...] I hope you will
find this resource useful.
Ne ws
Ada Resource Treasury at
AdaPower.com
From: David Botton <David@Botton.com>
Date: Tue, 28 Sep 1999 20:28:34 GMT
Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada
The Ada Resource Treasury has been
added to AdaPower at
http://www.adapower.com/411
There is no charge to list yourself or
your company in the resource treasury.
Just fill in the form with your information
or send by e-mail to
Resources@AdaPower.com
Current categories are: Ada Training,
Consultants, Staffing Firms, Vendors. If
you can think of another category you
would like to see, please feel free to
contact me.
Ada Resource and Career
Gateway at
AdaDeveloper.com
From: deane@staffing.net
Date: Wed, 13 Oct 1999 15:31:42 GMT
Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada
We are very proud to announce a web
site that will bring additional value to the
Ada community. AdaDeveloper.com is a
gateway to Ada resources and careers.
http://www.AdaDeveloper.com
Traditionally resources and career
information for the Ada developer have
been spread among several sites and can
be very time consuming to search. We at
AdaDeveloper.com have spent a
substantial amount of time bringing these
Ada resources together, creating a virtual
window to the entire Ada community. As
this community grows we are committed
to adding additional links and
information.
Our Mission 1. To help Software
Engineers with Ada experience prosper in
their careers. 2. Positively impact the Ada
community and help it to grow.
Dean Esposito 1-800-267-1355
Ada and Software
Engineering Library and
CDROMs
From: "Richard L. Conn"
<xenadu@MINDSPRING.COM>
Date: Thu, 14 Oct 1999 00:07:04 -0400
Subject: Notes about the Ada and Software
Engineering CDROMs at SIGAda 99
To: TEAM-ADA@ACM.ORG
As you may know, attendees at
SIGAda 99 [ have received -- dc ] copies
of the latest update (Update 2) of the Ada
and Software Engineering CDROM from
Walnut Creek CDROM. This two-disc set
adds over 1.2G bytes of material to the
existing two-disc November 1998 ASE
CDROM many of you received at last
year's conference and with the newsletter
V ol um e 22 , N um ber 1, M ar c h 2 00 1
earlier this year. Update 2 combines with
the baseline to form an integrated 4-disc
set of material. Update 2 can also stand
alone.
There are many new features, and you
will find a detailed, 4-page writeup of this
CDROM set on my website at:
http://unicoi.kennesaw.edu/~rconn/
Statistically speaking, this 2-disc set
contains over 30,400 files in 486
directories. The byte count is about
1,268,121,000 bytes.
Richard Conn, ASE and PAL
Manager
http://xenadu.home.mindspring.com/
From: "Richard L. Conn"
<rick.conn@MINDSPRING.COM>
Date: Wed, 3 Nov 1999 04:27:36 -0500
Subject: Ada and Software Engineering
CDROMs at MicroCenter
To: TEAM-ADA@ACM.ORG
Thought you would like to know ...
I've just heard from different sources that
the ASE CDROM is showing up in
MicroCenter computer stores in several
parts of the country [U.S.A. -- dc ;-) ].
Evidentally, MicroCenter has decided to
carry the Walnut Creek CDROM line.
It looks to me like adding the
"Software Engineering" emphasis to the
CDROMs (and reflecting it in the title)
has given it a wider audience than it
would have had otherwise, and this is all
the better for the Ada Awareness effort.
Richard Conn, ASE and PAL
Manager
http://xenadu.home.mindspring.com/
From: "Richard L. Conn"
<rick.conn@MINDSPRING.COM>
Date: Mon, 8 Nov 1999 19:53:48 -0500
Subject: How large is the Ada and Software
Engineering Library To: TEAMADA@ACM.ORG
The Ada and Software Engineering
(ASE) Library is duplicated three times
on the Web to give the users easy access
to the material:
ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/ase/
http://ase.isu.edu/
http://unicoi.kennesaw.edu/ase/
[...]
The baseline ASE CDROM (dated
November 1998) and the Update 2 ASE
CDROM (dated October 1999) comprise
a 4-CDROM set that combine to
duplicate the entire ASE Library website,
and instructions are included in the
Update 2 ASE CDROM as to how to
build your own.
The ASE Library contains over 2G
bytes of material, broken down as
follows:
Disc
Files Dirs
Bytes
01_01 6,859 415 579,877,798
01_02 2,838 271 565,864,983
01_04 29,715 431 578,886,732
01_05
719 55 627,427,344
support 416 1
7,796,557
Total
A da Us er J o ur na l
Ne ws
ASE
3
40,547 1,173 2,359,853,414
The support directory (on ASE01_04,
NOT on ASE01_05 as per the online
instructions) is used to form an integrated
website from the CDROMs.
Thought you would like to know these
statistics.
Richard Conn, ASE and PAL
Manager
http://xenadu.home.mindspring.com/
Ada Compiler Conformance
Testing: from ACVC to
ACATS
From: "Brashear, Phil"
<phil.brashear@eds.com>
Date: Wed, 20 Oct 1999 06:57:50 -0400
To: gnatlist@SEAS.GWU.EDU
[...], the current version of the ACVC
is ACATS 2.2. (Note the name change [
from "Ada Compiler Validation
Capability" to "Ada Conformity
Assessment Test Suite" -- dc ].) It's
available at http://www.adaauth.org/~acats/acats.html.
If you want a formal conformity
assessment, please contact me. [...]
Philip W. Brashear, (937) 237-4510
EDS Conformance Testing Center,
http://www.eds-conform.com 4646
Needmore Road, Bin 46, P.O. Box
24593, Dayton, OH 45424-0593
on http://ada.eu.org/cgibin/mailman/listinfo/comp.lang.ada
If you subscribe to this list, you will
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Mail sent to
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This is an experimental service. Please
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Tools and Components
Links
From: Michael Feldman
<mfeldman@SEAS.GWU.EDU>
Date: Wed, 10 Nov 1999 17:42:15 -0500
Subject: Updating tools/components section
of education site
To: TEAM-ADA@ACM.ORG
I'm updating this page:
http://www.acm.org/sigada/education/pag
es/tools_components.html
Please look there and let me know
which links I'm still missing.
Thanks!
Web based Ada FAQ
From: David Botton
<dbotton@yahoo.com>
Date: Sun, 24 Oct 1999 16:24:10 -0700
To: TEAM-ADA@ACM.ORG
The web based AdaFAQ has been
created and is now up and running at:
http://www.adapower.com/lab/adafaq
Discussions concerning the FAQ,
issues related to specific entries, etc. are
discussed on the AdaFAQ-list @
AdaPower.com. To join send an e-mail to
AdaFAQ-list-request @ AdaPower.com
with subscribe in the body.
Everyone in the Ada community is
encouraged to add entries to the FAQ and
to join in discussing issues related to the
FAQ.
This FAQ is being released under the
GPL license to insure that it not be
compromised for the future.
Mail Feed for comp.lang.ada
Newsgroup
From: Samuel Tardieu <sam@ada.eu.org>
Date: 05 Nov 1999 12:59:28 +0100
Organization: TELECOM Paris
Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada
I just set up a new mail feed for
comp.lang.ada. Information can be found
A da Us er J o ur na l
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