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From: jordan@aerospace.aero.org (Larry M. Jordan)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada
Subject: ISA Support for Ada
Message-ID: <97209@aerospace.AERO.ORG>
Date: 16 Jan 91 02:21:30 GMT
Organization: The Aerospace Corporation, El Segundo, CA
Lines: 22


  I am considering creating benchmarks that will exercise processor features 
that endeavor to "efficiently support the execution of Ada."  I admit that I 
am quite ignorant in this area.  So, I pose the question: "What does a processor
(RISC,CISC) need in order to efficiently support the execution of Ada?"
Another way to pose the question is, "What would be the Ada compiler
writer's dream target architecture?" 

  One avenue I thought I would pursue is to acquire the source code for
an Ada run-time system and examine how such services are implemented.
(Apart from relying upon services of the RTS, is there anything about
the code generated for an Ada application that might not be basically
similar to that generated by a C compiler?)   Then, knowing what I know
about the intended target, reimplement the RTS (or abstraction of it)
in the target assembly language.

Does anyone know where I can get my hands on an Ada RTS that is in
the public domain (and/or is of minimal cost)?  HOL or assembly are fine.  
It doesn't have to be the best implementation thereof out there, but one that
serves to demonstrate what services are provided and how they are implemented.

--Larry