Xref:	news-dnh.mv.net comp.edu:4132 comp.lang.ada:14924 comp.os.msdos.djgpp:4393
From:	mfeldman AT seas DOT gwu DOT edu (Michael Feldman)
Newsgroups:	comp.lang.ada,comp.edu,comp.os.msdos.djgpp
Subject:	New Release of GNAT (GNU Ada 95) and Other DOS Goodies
Date:	14 Jan 1996 21:30:36 -0500
Organization:	George Washington University
Lines:	192
Message-ID:	<4dce8c$b2f@felix.seas.gwu.edu>
NNTP-Posting-Host:	128.164.9.3
To:	djgpp AT delorie DOT com
DJ-Gateway:	from newsgroup comp.os.msdos.djgpp

Fourth Release of GW ez2load Ada Compiler and Tutorial Kit for MS-DOS
------------------------------------------------------------------
January 15, 1996
----------------

Michael B. Feldman   (mfeldman AT seas DOT gwu DOT edu)
Charles A. Kann      (ckann AT seas DOT gwu DOT edu)
Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science 
The George Washington University Washington, DC 20052 
(202) 994-5919 (voice) 
(202) 994-0227 (fax) 

We are happy to announce the fourth release of ez2load, an easy-install
kit of free Ada 83 and Ada 95 compilers and editors, and a shareware
tutorial for Ada 95.

This kit is intended primarily for distribution on the February release 
of the Walnut Creek Ada CD-ROM, but it is equally useful 
as an ftp or diskette distribution. 

New in this release:
-------------------
- GNAT version 3.01 for MS-DOS is now included. This is the released
  DOS version of the compiler that was validated for SGI in November.
  Since the base compiler is the same, all of Ada 95 is now
  supported and passed the relevant validation tests. The zipfiles
  now match the "official" distribution.

  There is unfortunately still no tasking under DOS. The compiler will
  compile a tasking program correctly, so you can do syntax/semantic
  checking on DOS, but you cannot link the program because the needed
  runtime libraries are missing. For GNAT with tasking on the
  Intel platform, get GNAT for OS/2 or Windows NT or Linux.
  The various GNAT ports are at cs.nyu.edu.

- Improved and extended versions of the AdaCAPS (DOS) and AdaIDE
  (Windows 3.1) editor/development environments.

- The GW-GNAT editor is gone. We are no longer supporting it,
  because it is completely superceded by AdaCAPS and AdaIDE, which
  are much better environments.

- A new utility which, given a compilable package interface, will
  produce a skeletal, compilable package body, with syntactically
  valid skeletal subprogram bodies. This is called makebody and
  runs as a tool under AdaCAPS.

- A binding to the DJGPP version of PD Curses, with a higher-level
  package called AdaTUI, Ada Textual User Interface. PD Curses is
  included in the distribution.

- A new release of DRGEN, from Allen Parrish and David Cordes of
  the University of Alabama. Given a compiled package, DRGEN will
  produce an interactive test harness for unit-testing the package.

- A new release of David Wheeler's Lovelace, a free Ada 95 tutorial
  in Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). A copy of the Cello HTML
  browser for Windows is included.

- Finally, the editors and other tools are packaged in two ways: first, 
  as an inherent part of the gnat*.zip files, and second, for those
  who already have GNAT 2.06 installed, in separate zipfiles.
  If you need only the new editors, download editors.zip _and_ the .exe 
  and .scr files. If you need only DRGEN, download drgen.zip.
  You do not need the other zipfiles.

  The file winhelp.zip contains a set of Windows Help files created by
  the AdaIDE authors for several of the DJGPP tools. These are not
  essential to using AdaIDE or GNAT; download this file isf you wish.

ez2load is available by anonymous ftp at ftp.gwu.edu, pub/ada/ez2load, 
and also in the Public Ada LIbrary at wuarchive.wustl.edu (and numerous
mirror sites), languages/ada/compiler/ez2load.

Included in the ez2load kit are:
-------------------------------

- a menu-driven installer program

- GW-Ada/Ed, an integrated Ada 83 environment that provides an excellent
  way to get started with Ada. This system incorporates an editor,
  compiler and virtual-code interpreter, and a very useful multi-window
  runtime monitor. Several directories of interesting example programs
  are provided, including some nice programs to demonstrate Ada's
  multitasking capabilities. Based on NYU's Ada/Ed compiler,
  GW-Ada/Ed was developed by Charles Kann, GW doctoral student,
  and Arthur Vargas Lopes, a GW graduate now of Porto Alegre, Brazil.

- GNAT (GNU/NYU Ada Translator) for DOS, an Ada 95 compiler that runs
  under djgpp (GCC for DOS) and provides a nearly-complete implementation
  of Ada 95. (Tasking is not yet supported in the DOS version of GNAT.)
  A basic djgpp distribution is included in the kit and installed along
  with GNAT. GNAT is a product of a team at New York University and
  elsewhere, and is now maintained by Ada Core Technologies (ACT). 
  Report compiler bugs to them,  report AT gnat DOT com.

- AdaCAPS (Ada Computer-Aided Programming System), an interactive development 
  environment for GNAT. The editor provides full support for multiple 
  re-sizable windows (overlaid or tiled), mouse and keystroke interactions, 
  and single-keystroke invocation of GNAT compilation, binding, and execution 
  commands. Ken Price of Priceless Software, Perpperell, Mass, is the
  author of this very nice IDE, which has the "look-and-feel" of a
  Borland "Turbo" product.

- AdaIDE (Ada Interactive Development Environment), an IDE that runs
  under Microsoft Windows 3.1, with the "look-and-feel" of a Microsoft
  "Visual" product. Errol Martin and Don Overheu of Canberra,
  Australia, are the authors of this IDE.

- a set of simple DOS command-line commands, gcompile/glink/gexecute,
  which allow new GNAT users to do simple compilation and linking
  operations, and to execute programs in an environment that produces
  a neatly-formatted traceback in case of an unhandled exception.
  These commands are invoked by GW-GNAT and AdaCAPS but can also be run 
  from the DOS command line. Charles Kann is the author.

- AdaTUI, Ada Textual User Interface, a binding to PD Curses
  and a demonstration textual user interface builder package.
  The author is Alden Dima of GWU.

- a fast hypertext Ada 95 Reference Manual. The hypertext RM can be invoked 
  from GW-GNAT, AdaCAPS and AdaIDE or used as a stand-alone program. The 
  author is Arthur Vargas Lopes.

- AVLAda9X - a prototype of an integrated, very fast Ada 95 programming
  environment under development by Arthur Vargas Lopes.

- DRGEN - a tool which allows programmers to easily generate driver programs
  for unit testing Ada packages.  This tool was written by Allan Parrish and
  David Cortes.

- Lovelace - A hypertext Ada 95 tutorial by David Wheeler.  It includes
  the Cello web browser.

- Ada-Tutor - a shareware package by John Herro, providing computer-aided 
  instruction in Ada 95. This is an excellent package for those wishing
  to teach themselves Ada 95.

All components are free except for Ada-Tutor, which carries a shareware
fee if you decide to keep it and use it.

Acquiring ez2load by anonymous ftp:
----------------------------------

The ez2load suite is available from ftp.gwu.edu in the directory
pub/ada/ez2load, and also from the Public Ada Library (wuarchive.wustl.edu)
and its mirrors, in the directory languages/ada/compiler/ez2load.

Here are all the files to copy from the ftp directory:

        README - This readme file
        ginstall.exe - Program to do the install from a hard disk.
        dinstall.exe - Program to do the install if you use diskettes.
        install.scr - This script files gives options to the install program.
        unzip.exe - unzip, used to unzip distribution files.
        README.DSK - A readme file to explain how to use this distribution
                     to make a diskette distribution.

        adaed1.zip
        adaed2.zip 	- Zip files containing GW-Ada/Ed.

        adatutor.zip 	- Zip file containing adatutor.

        avlada9x.zip 	- Zip file containing avlada9x

        gnat3011.zip
        gnat3012.zip
        gnat3013.zip
        dj112m4.zip 	- Zip files containing djgpp, GNAT, GW-GNAT, 
                    	  AdaIDE, AdaCAPS, and DRGEN.

        editors.zip 	- separate package containing just AdaIDE and
                     	  AdaCAPS.

        drgen.zip 	- separate zipfile containing DRGEN and a few
                    	  additional demos.

        winhelp.zip 	- separate zipfile containing Windows Help for
                    	  several DJGPP tools.

The last three zipfiles are here for your convenience, in case you
do not want the entire GNAT distribution. Everything in them is also
included in the gnat*.zip files. 

Download the first six files, and any or all of the zip files, into
a "clean" single directory of your choosing, then change to that
directory and type "ginstall". 

The complete distribution occupies about 8.5 megabytes; the unpacked
and installed distribution requires about 15 megabytes. You need an
MS-DOS computer with an 80386 or better CPU; 4 megabytes minimum RAM,
8 mb preferred.

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