Open-Source Ada: From Gateware to Application
9 comments
·November 1, 2025no_wizard
tremon
What do you mean with "is the language open source"? The Ada specification is public [0] but not open source -- but the C and C++ specifications are not open source either, in the normal sense of the term. And like with C and C++, there are both open source and proprietary compilers for Ada, see e.g. [1]
What's mostly not open source (FAFAIK) is SPARK, the formal verification framework for Ada.
RossBencina
The C++ (draft) standards are open source:
https://github.com/cplusplus/draft
Last time I looked I could not find an equivalent repository for the C standards.
AlotOfReading
There isn't one. They publish completed drafts on the working group website:
https://www.open-std.org/jtc1/sc22/wg14/www/wg14_document_lo...
i-con
SPARK tools are also open source. The main tool `gnatprove` is based on GCC as well. https://github.com/AdaCore/spark2014
It's not a community project, AFAICT. Few people know how to build it from source.
tremon
That links gives me a 404. Does it require membership of some organization before you're allowed to view it?
edit: did you mean https://github.com/AdaCore/spark2014 ?
i-con
If you are looking for an open-source compiler, many distros (e.g. Archlinux, Debian and derivatives) bootstrap a full GCC (GNU compiler collection). Sometimes you have to install a particular packet, e.g. `gnat` or `gcc-ada`. There's also a language-specific packet tool `alire` that seems to aim to be somewhat like cargo. It can also install toolchains, IIRC.
homarp
you have GNAT https://www.getadanow.com/ which is part of GNU compilers
some discussion https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27313294
This is specifically for hardware. Looks really cool!
I’ve always been confused about Ada the language and its licensing though. I know this project is open source but is the language as well? It’s unclear to me, though I may be missing information