Compile Ada program for Linux using Windows

Question

If I want to compile a program that is written in Ada, I have to use GNAT, of course.

As my Computer has Windows as its sole operating system, I cannot use GNAT, normally. Right? Thus I got Cygwin which enables me to use GNAT on Windows.

But the result is an executable that runs under Windows - not Linux. So how can I compile the Ada code for Linux although I only have Windows? (Please don't think about the reasons ...)

Is this possible with Cygwin? Do I have to install a virtual machine with Linux? Or is there another (easier) solution to this issue?

Answer 1

I have to use GNAT, of course.

Not true; there are other Ada compilers. (GNAT is the only one I know of that's free.)

Running GNAT under Cygwin gives you Cygwin executables, which are Windows executables that depend on cygwin1.dll. They will not work on Linux. See the "What ... isn't it?" section on the Cygwin home page.

There is a GNAT for Windows. The GNAT Pro version has a list of supported platforms here; it includes Linux and Windows, but it doesn't show a Windows-to-Linux cross compiler.

Since GNAT is free software (GNAT Pro isn't is a little more complicated; I won't get into that) there could well be a Windows-to-Linux GNAT cross-compiler -- or, if you're really ambitious, you could build one yourself (or hire someone to do it for you).

But installing GNAT on a Linux system is the easiest approach. It doesn't have to be a virtual machine. If you have the hardware, you can install some Linux system by itself, or you can set up a dual-boot system on your Windows box. Ubuntu has a Windows installer, Wubi, that installs an Ubuntu image as a Windows file; it doesn't let you run Windows and Ubuntu concurrently, but it lets you dual-boot without having to repartition.

There are other options; these are just the ones I'm familiar with.