Extended from Pascal and other languages, Ada is an object-oriented, high-level programming language that first appeared in 1980, and is still actively maintained.
Ada was developed by Jean Ichbiah, a French computer scientist, under contract to the US Department of Defense from 1977 to 1983. The language was named for Ada Lovelace, credited as the first computer programmer.
Because of Ada's safety-critical support features, it is used for military applications and in other applications for which security is critical, such as air traffic control, space systems, rail transport, banking, and in medical devices. It is used by a number of industries to design software that protects businesses and lives.
From a programmer's perspective, Ada is known for its readability, maintainability, and portability. Internationally standardized, Ada combines object-oriented programming features, well-engineered concurrency facilities, real-time support, and built-in reliability.
The programming language, SPARK, is based on Ada. Originally, there were three versions of SPARK, SPARK83, SPARK95, and SPARK2005, based on Ada-83, Ada-95 and Ada-2005, respectively.
The focus of resources listed in this category is on the Ada programming language, although SPARK and any other Ada derivative languages or implementations may be listed here, as well, along with any tools or editors specifically designed for Ada programming, tutorials, user groups, or other resources.
Recommended Resources
Created by AdaCore, the site highlights the safety and security of Ada-2012. Features that were added to the language are listed, and a comparison chart offers an overview of the major features of the Ada programming language. The advantages and attractions of the language for programmers are discussed, leading to reasons to learn to program in Ada, including the ease of training programmers. A list of other Ada resources is included, with links to organizations and articles.
http://www.ada2012.org/
Ada Conformity Assessment Authority
The ACAA is responsible for the management of Ada conformity assessments, previously known as validations. Ada language processors are tested by third-party testing laboratories to verify their conformity to the Ada standard, and the ACAA ensures that this testing is performed consistently and in accordance with appropriate standards. A list of certified Ada compilers is presented, and an Ada site search feature allows users to search Ada-related sites without distractions.
http://www.ada-auth.org/
Online since 1994, the Ada Home site is a hypertext information server offering information about the Ada programming language, sponsored by Kempe Software Capital Enterprises. Visitors to the site are invited to contribute news, information, links, ideas, comments, and requests for additions or corrections. A site guide is included. Among the site includes links to books and online tutorials, book reviews, references, compilers, tools, bindings, and other resources.
https://www.adahome.com/
Maintained by the Ada Resource Association, the Clearinghouse is a portal to news and resources for Ada and related technologies. On its site or from resources linked from the site, an overview of the language is given, including its features and benefits, versions, implementations, including SPARK Ada and other Ada projects. Ada standards, tools, libraries, associations, learning materials, and professional training organizations are included.
https://www.adaic.org/
Tips on various aspects of programming with Ada are offered by a variety of authors, most in text form, but others in video format. The most recently published tips are posted at the top of the page, while older ones are archived, and may be found by author, category, or by tags. The established categories include adacontrol, embedded, gprbuild, misc, quickies, and video. Other resources include a blog on topics related to Ada programming and links to other Ada sites.
http://ada.tips/
The GNAT project began in 1992 when the US Air Force awarded a contract to the Free Software Foundation to build a free compiler for Ada to help with standardization. This free Ada compiler became known as GNAT. The original authors of GNAT formed Ada Core Technologies, now known as AdaCore. With roots in Ada, AdaCore is headquartered in New York and Paris, and the Ada programming language and the Open Source software movement is at its center.
https://www.adacore.com/
Sponsored by the Free Software Foundation and GNAT, the GNU Ada compiler that was designed to be the standard for the Ada programming language. The site includes links to all manner of resources for Ada, including the benefits and features of the language and the installation of Ada on FreeBSD and DragonFly, GNU/Linux, Mac OS X, Windows, Raspbian on Raspberry Pi, and downloading a Virtual Machine, as well as tutorials, user groups, and other resources.
http://www.getadanow.com/
The benefits and features of the Ada programming language are listed, and a guide to resources on the language includes downloadable e-books and manuals, books that can be ordered in print, games written in Ada, and articles on the Ada language. Other resources include online tutorials and live compilers for Ada, book recommendations, blogs, user groups and forums, sample Ada codes, and other Ada content. An Ada video contest is announced.
http://www.learnadanow.com/
Developed by Altran and AdaCore, the SPARK programming language is based on Ada 2012, including a large subset of the Ada language, while omitting some of Ada’s more problematic features, such as unrestricted parallel tasking. SPARK Pro is the most complete toolset for SPARK, while SPARK Discovery, included in GNAT Pro, is a reduced toolset that performs the same analyses as SPARK Pro but comes with one automatic prover rather than three. It is available by subscription.
https://www.adacore.com/sparkpro/
SIGAda was formed when AdaTEC disbanded in 1984, with AdaTEC officers serving under SIGAda so, in a sense, it was a name change. A history of the organization is given, along with its membership policies, benefits, and fees, bylaws, officers, and working groups. Basic information about the programming language, Ada logos, awards, and creating Ada software are included. Upcoming conferences and events are announced, and other informational articles are included.
http://www.sigada.org/
