AdaCore
Encyclopedia
AdaCore is a computer software
company that provides open source software tools and expertise for the development of mission-critical, safety-critical, and security-critical software. AdaCore’s flagship products are the GNAT Pro and SPARK Pro development environments and the CodePeer automatic code reviewer and validator.
Its main product is GNAT Pro a commercial-grade open source Ada
development that supports all Ada versions (Ada 2005, Ada 95, Ada 83). All AdaCore software products are licensed either under the GPL
or the GMGPL
license. Special releases are made for academic or open source
use.
The company was founded in 1994, and was originally named Ada Core Technologies (ACT). In 2004 it was rebranded to AdaCore.
AdaCore is privately owned and has North American headquarters in New York and European headquarters in Paris.
Dr. Robert Dewar
is co-founder, President and CEO of AdaCore and Emeritus Professor of Computer Science
at New York University
. Dr. Dewar has been a major contributor to Ada throughout its evolution and is a principal architect of AdaCore’s GNAT Ada technology. He has co-authored compilers for SPITBOL (SNOBOL
), Realia COBOL
for the PC (now marketed by Computer Associates), and Alsys
Ada, and has also written several real-time operating systems, for Honeywell
.
Franco Gasperoni, Managing Director
Franco Gasperoni is co-founder and Managing Director of AdaCore in Europe. He has been involved with Ada both commercially and technically since 1991. Franco has an engineering degree from the Ecole des Mines de Paris, France and a PhD in Computer Science
from New York University
, USA. While at the Ecole des Mines, Franco worked with Maurice Allais
, the French Economics Nobel laureate.
Edmond Schonberg, Vice President
Ed Schonberg is co-founder and Vice President of AdaCore. A professor of Computer Science
at New York University
, he is one of the principal developers of the first validated Ada compiler at NYU. Dr. Schonberg is co-author of and accompanist for Ada & the Mandate, and the Musical Adventures of Lady Ada. His research interests include the design and implementation of programming languages, Software Engineering
and programming methodologies, and chamber music.
Richard Kenner, Vice President
Richard Kenner is a co-founder and Vice President of AdaCore. He was a researcher in the Computer Science
Department at New York University
from 1975 through 1998. During that time, he worked with the SETL
Project, a research project in high-level programming languages, the PUMA Project, which designed and built an emulator for the CDC 6600
in the late 1970s, and with the Ultracomputer
Project, which did research on highly-parallel computer systems.
Cyrille Comar, Managing Director
Cyrille Comar is co-founder and Managing Director of AdaCore Europe. He is one of the key architects of the GNAT
compilation technology, and led the implementation of the Ada 95 object-oriented features and the GNAT library model. Cyrille is actively participating in the DO-178C
Working Group and its Object Oriented Technology subgroup. He has published numerous papers on GNAT technology, software quality and multi-language programming. Cyrille holds Masters and PhD degrees in Computer Science
from Pierre and Marie Curie University
(Paris 6).
, air traffic control
, railroad systems, space, energy, financial services
and medical devices.
Its customers include:
and for more advanced courses in compiler construction. The community consists of over 175 members in 35 countries teaching Ada using GNAT.
Member projects include:
European Robotics Cuphttp://www.telecom-robotics.org/
The Telecom Robotics club at Telecom ParisTech is using Ada and the GNAT technology for its project submissions to the European Robotics Cup. In 2010, Telecom Robotics finished in the top ten out of 150 entries. Telecom Robotics is continuing to use Ada and GNAT on its projects, including a robot based on LEGO Mindstorms
.
Arctic Sea Ice Buoy and CubeSat
Projects
Students at Vermont Technical College
are using AdaCore’s GNAT development environment along with Altran Praxis’ SPARK tools on two NASA
-sponsored programs with large software components.
For the first project, the students are designing and building both the hardware and software for an Arctic Sea Ice Buoy that measures wind speed, direction, temperature and GPS position. Data from the buoy are sent back to the home base via the Iridium satellite constellation
. The students are producing the prototype buoy for the study of sea/ice interaction in the Arctic Ocean, and a follow-on grant will fund placement of between 10 and 20 buoys on the Arctic Ocean ice.
The second project is a continuation of work on CubeSat, a space satellite 10 cm in diameter with a mass of 1 kg.
Dasher robot
Graduate students at Mälardalen University
are designing, building and programming the Dasher robot using AdaCore’s GNAT toolset, on Wind River Systems’ VxWorks real-time operating system.
The Dasher project’s goal is to create a humanoid
(two-legged) robot that can run 100 meters in 9.5 seconds, which would break the human record.
Adacore tools and expertise for the development of mission-critical, safety-critical, and security-critical software include:
Ada and mixed-language Ada/C/C++ development
Safety-critical and security-critical development
Safety-critical and security-critical development: specialized tools and libraries
Computer software
Computer software, or just software, is a collection of computer programs and related data that provide the instructions for telling a computer what to do and how to do it....
company that provides open source software tools and expertise for the development of mission-critical, safety-critical, and security-critical software. AdaCore’s flagship products are the GNAT Pro and SPARK Pro development environments and the CodePeer automatic code reviewer and validator.
Its main product is GNAT Pro a commercial-grade open source Ada
Ada (programming language)
Ada is a structured, statically typed, imperative, wide-spectrum, and object-oriented high-level computer programming language, extended from Pascal and other languages...
development that supports all Ada versions (Ada 2005, Ada 95, Ada 83). All AdaCore software products are licensed either under the GPL
GNU General Public License
The GNU General Public License is the most widely used free software license, originally written by Richard Stallman for the GNU Project....
or the GMGPL
GNAT Modified General Public License
The GNAT Modified General Public License is a version of the GNU General Public License specifically modified for the generic feature found in the Ada programming language.The modification is as follows:...
license. Special releases are made for academic or open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
use.
The company was founded in 1994, and was originally named Ada Core Technologies (ACT). In 2004 it was rebranded to AdaCore.
AdaCore is privately owned and has North American headquarters in New York and European headquarters in Paris.
Key people
Robert BK Dewar, President & CEODr. Robert Dewar
Robert Dewar
Robert Berriedale Keith Dewar is an American computer scientist.-Education:Dewar obtained his B.S. from the University of Chicago in 1964, and his Ph.D., also from the University of Chicago, in 1968.-Career:...
is co-founder, President and CEO of AdaCore and Emeritus Professor of Computer Science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
. Dr. Dewar has been a major contributor to Ada throughout its evolution and is a principal architect of AdaCore’s GNAT Ada technology. He has co-authored compilers for SPITBOL (SNOBOL
SNOBOL
SNOBOL is a generic name for the computer programming languages developed between 1962 and 1967 at AT&T Bell Laboratories by David J. Farber, Ralph E. Griswold and Ivan P. Polonsky, culminating in SNOBOL4...
), Realia COBOL
COBOL
COBOL is one of the oldest programming languages. Its name is an acronym for COmmon Business-Oriented Language, defining its primary domain in business, finance, and administrative systems for companies and governments....
for the PC (now marketed by Computer Associates), and Alsys
Alsys
The company Alsys, SA. was a software development company created to support initial work on the Ada programming language.In July 1995, Alsys merged to become Thomson Software Products ,, which merged into Aonix in 1996....
Ada, and has also written several real-time operating systems, for Honeywell
Honeywell
Honeywell International, Inc. is a major conglomerate company that produces a variety of consumer products, engineering services, and aerospace systems for a wide variety of customers, from private consumers to major corporations and governments....
.
Franco Gasperoni, Managing Director
Franco Gasperoni is co-founder and Managing Director of AdaCore in Europe. He has been involved with Ada both commercially and technically since 1991. Franco has an engineering degree from the Ecole des Mines de Paris, France and a PhD in Computer Science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
from New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
, USA. While at the Ecole des Mines, Franco worked with Maurice Allais
Maurice Allais
Maurice Félix Charles Allais was a French economist, and was the 1988 winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics "for his pioneering contributions to the theory of markets and efficient utilization of resources."...
, the French Economics Nobel laureate.
Edmond Schonberg, Vice President
Ed Schonberg is co-founder and Vice President of AdaCore. A professor of Computer Science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
, he is one of the principal developers of the first validated Ada compiler at NYU. Dr. Schonberg is co-author of and accompanist for Ada & the Mandate, and the Musical Adventures of Lady Ada. His research interests include the design and implementation of programming languages, Software Engineering
Software engineering
Software Engineering is the application of a systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approach to the development, operation, and maintenance of software, and the study of these approaches; that is, the application of engineering to software...
and programming methodologies, and chamber music.
Richard Kenner, Vice President
Richard Kenner is a co-founder and Vice President of AdaCore. He was a researcher in the Computer Science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
Department at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
from 1975 through 1998. During that time, he worked with the SETL
SETL
SETL is a very-high level programming language based on the mathematical theory of sets. It was originally developed by Jack Schwartz at the NYU Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences in the late 1960s....
Project, a research project in high-level programming languages, the PUMA Project, which designed and built an emulator for the CDC 6600
CDC 6600
The CDC 6600 was a mainframe computer from Control Data Corporation, first delivered in 1964. It is generally considered to be the first successful supercomputer, outperforming its fastest predecessor, IBM 7030 Stretch, by about three times...
in the late 1970s, and with the Ultracomputer
Ultracomputer
The NYU Ultracomputer is a significant processor design in the history of parallel computing. The system has N processors, N memories and an N log N message-passing switch connecting them...
Project, which did research on highly-parallel computer systems.
Cyrille Comar, Managing Director
Cyrille Comar is co-founder and Managing Director of AdaCore Europe. He is one of the key architects of the GNAT
GNAT
GNAT is a free-software compiler for the Ada programming language which forms part of the GNU Compiler Collection. It supports all versions of the language, i.e. Ada 2005, Ada 95 and Ada 83; it allows already some constructs of Ada 2012...
compilation technology, and led the implementation of the Ada 95 object-oriented features and the GNAT library model. Cyrille is actively participating in the DO-178C
DO-178C
DO-178C, Software Considerations in Airborne Systems and Equipment Certification is the title of an upcoming document published by RTCA, Incorporated, in a joint effort with EUROCAE...
Working Group and its Object Oriented Technology subgroup. He has published numerous papers on GNAT technology, software quality and multi-language programming. Cyrille holds Masters and PhD degrees in Computer Science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
from Pierre and Marie Curie University
Pierre and Marie Curie University
The Paris VI University , or the Pierre and Marie Curie University , is a university located on the Jussieu Campus in the Latin Quarter of the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France....
(Paris 6).
Customers
Ada and GNAT Pro are used in long-lived applications where safety, security, and reliability are critical., Domains include commercial and defense avionicsAvionics
Avionics are electronic systems used on aircraft, artificial satellites and spacecraft.Avionic systems include communications, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems and the hundreds of systems that are fitted to aircraft to meet individual roles...
, air traffic control
Air traffic control
Air traffic control is a service provided by ground-based controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and in the air. The primary purpose of ATC systems worldwide is to separate aircraft to prevent collisions, to organize and expedite the flow of traffic, and to provide information and other...
, railroad systems, space, energy, financial services
Financial services
Financial services refer to services provided by the finance industry. The finance industry encompasses a broad range of organizations that deal with the management of money. Among these organizations are credit unions, banks, credit card companies, insurance companies, consumer finance companies,...
and medical devices.
Its customers include:
- BAE SystemsBAE SystemsBAE Systems plc is a British multinational defence, security and aerospace company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that has global interests, particularly in North America through its subsidiary BAE Systems Inc. BAE is among the world's largest military contractors; in 2009 it was the...
- BoeingBoeingThe Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
- Eurocontrol
- Hewlett-PackardHewlett-PackardHewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including...
- Lockheed MartinLockheed MartinLockheed Martin is an American global aerospace, defense, security, and advanced technology company with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington Metropolitan Area....
- Logica CMG
- Nato
- Philips Semiconductors
- Rockwell CollinsRockwell CollinsRockwell Collins, Inc. is a large United States-based international company headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, primarily providing aviation and information technology systems and services to governmental agencies and aircraft manufacturers.- History :...
- SaabSaabSaab AB is a Swedish aerospace and defence company, founded in 1937. From 1947 to 1990 it was the parent company of automobile manufacturer Saab Automobile, and between 1968 and 1995 the company was in a merger with commercial vehicle manufacturer Scania, known as Saab-Scania.-History:"Svenska...
- Secunet http://www.secunet.com/en/
- Sema GroupSema GroupSema Group plc was an Anglo-French IT services company. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but was acquired by Schlumberger in 2001.-History:...
- SGISilicon GraphicsSilicon Graphics, Inc. was a manufacturer of high-performance computing solutions, including computer hardware and software, founded in 1981 by Jim Clark...
- ThalesThalesThales of Miletus was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher from Miletus in Asia Minor, and one of the Seven Sages of Greece. Many, most notably Aristotle, regard him as the first philosopher in the Greek tradition...
- Ultra ElectronicsUltra ElectronicsUltra Electronics Holdings is a British company serving the defence, security, transport and energy industries. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.-History:...
Partners
AdaCore has several strategic alliances and partnerships:- Altran Praxis – a specialist systems and software house, focused on the engineering of systems with demanding safety, security or innovation requirements.
- Sofcheck http://www.sofcheck.com/ – a premier automated software quality solutions company. SofCheck, in partnership with AdaCore, developed the CodePeer automated code review and validation tool.
- Wind RiverWind River SystemsWind River Systems, Inc. is a company providing embedded systems, development tools for embedded systems, middleware, and other types of software. The company was founded in Berkeley, California in 1981 by Jerry Fiddler and David Wilner. On June 4, 2009, Wind River announced that Intel had bought...
– embedded softwareEmbedded softwareEmbedded software is computer software that plays an integral role in the electronics it is supplied with.Embedded software's principal role is not Information technology , but rather the interaction with the physical world. It's written for machines that are not, first and foremost, computers...
providing development tools, real-time operating systems, and advanced connectivity for use in products in a variety of markets including aerospaceAerospaceAerospace comprises the atmosphere of Earth and surrounding space. Typically the term is used to refer to the industry that researches, designs, manufactures, operates, and maintains vehicles moving through air and space...
and defenceDefense industryThe defense industry, also called the military industry, comprises government and commercial industry involved in research, development, production, and service of military materiel, equipment and facilities...
.
- Hewlett-PackardHewlett-PackardHewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including...
- GNAT Pro is currently available and supported on HP’s OpenVMSOpenVMSOpenVMS , previously known as VAX-11/VMS, VAX/VMS or VMS, is a computer server operating system that runs on VAX, Alpha and Itanium-based families of computers. Contrary to what its name suggests, OpenVMS is not open source software; however, the source listings are available for purchase...
and Tru64 on AlphaServerAlphaServerAlphaServer was the name given to a series of server computers, produced from 1994 onwards by Digital Equipment Corporation, and latterly by Compaq and HP. As the name suggests, the AlphaServers were based on the DEC Alpha 64-bit microprocessor...
systems; and HP-UXHP-UXHP-UX is Hewlett-Packard's proprietary implementation of the Unix operating system, based on UNIX System V and first released in 1984...
, HP LinuxLinuxLinux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
, and OpenVMS for HP Integrity Servers.
- Verocel http://www.verocel.com/ – has developed the certification package for run-time library components accompanying the GNAT Pro High Integrity Edition. This package contains all of the artifacts required to satisfy the objectives of DO-178BDO-178BDO-178B, Software Considerations in Airborne Systems and Equipment Certification is a document dealing with the safety of software used in airborne systems....
for a Level A system.
Encouraging the use of Ada in Academia
The GNAT Academic Program (GAP) was created to support the study of Ada in courses from elementary programming, data structures, software engineeringSoftware engineering
Software Engineering is the application of a systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approach to the development, operation, and maintenance of software, and the study of these approaches; that is, the application of engineering to software...
and for more advanced courses in compiler construction. The community consists of over 175 members in 35 countries teaching Ada using GNAT.
Member projects include:
European Robotics Cuphttp://www.telecom-robotics.org/
The Telecom Robotics club at Telecom ParisTech is using Ada and the GNAT technology for its project submissions to the European Robotics Cup. In 2010, Telecom Robotics finished in the top ten out of 150 entries. Telecom Robotics is continuing to use Ada and GNAT on its projects, including a robot based on LEGO Mindstorms
Lego Mindstorms
The LEGO Mindstorm series of kits contain software and hardware to create small, customizable and programmable robots. They include a programmable 'Brick' computer that controls the system, a set of modular sensors and motors, and LEGO parts from the Technics line to create the mechanical...
.
Arctic Sea Ice Buoy and CubeSat
CubeSat
A CubeSat is a type of miniaturized satellite for space research that usually has a volume of exactly one liter , has a mass of no more than 1.33 kilograms, and typically uses commercial off-the-shelf electronics components...
Projects
Students at Vermont Technical College
Vermont Technical College
Vermont Technical College is a public technical college with two main campuses located in Randolph Center and Williston, Vermont. The College also has nursing campuses in other locations throughout the state...
are using AdaCore’s GNAT development environment along with Altran Praxis’ SPARK tools on two NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
-sponsored programs with large software components.
For the first project, the students are designing and building both the hardware and software for an Arctic Sea Ice Buoy that measures wind speed, direction, temperature and GPS position. Data from the buoy are sent back to the home base via the Iridium satellite constellation
Iridium satellite constellation
The Iridium satellite constellation is a large group of satellites providing voice and data coverage to satellite phones, pagers and integrated transceivers over Earth's entire surface. Iridium Communications Inc...
. The students are producing the prototype buoy for the study of sea/ice interaction in the Arctic Ocean, and a follow-on grant will fund placement of between 10 and 20 buoys on the Arctic Ocean ice.
The second project is a continuation of work on CubeSat, a space satellite 10 cm in diameter with a mass of 1 kg.
Dasher robot
Graduate students at Mälardalen University
Mälardalen University
Mälardalen University College , or MdH, is a university college located in Västerås and Eskilstuna, Sweden. It has 13,000 students and over 1,000 employees, of which around 40 are professors...
are designing, building and programming the Dasher robot using AdaCore’s GNAT toolset, on Wind River Systems’ VxWorks real-time operating system.
The Dasher project’s goal is to create a humanoid
Humanoid
A humanoid is something that has an appearance resembling a human being. The term first appeared in 1912 to refer to fossils which were morphologically similar to, but not identical with, those of the human skeleton. Although this usage was common in the sciences for much of the 20th century, it...
(two-legged) robot that can run 100 meters in 9.5 seconds, which would break the human record.
External links
- AdaCore Libre site
- Franco Gasperoni, COTS, FLOSS, and Market Freedom in Safety-Centric Industries — AdaCore's business model and history
Adacore tools and expertise for the development of mission-critical, safety-critical, and security-critical software include:
Ada and mixed-language Ada/C/C++ development
- GNAT Pro Ada http://www.adacore.com/home/products/gnatpro
- GNAT Pro C http://www.adacore.com/home/products/gnatpro/pricing/feed
- GNAT Pro C++ http://www.adacore.com/home/products/gnatpro/multi-language/cplus
- CodePeer http://www.adacore.com/home/products/codepeer
Safety-critical and security-critical development
- GNAT Pro High-Integrity Edition http://www.adacore.com/home/products/gnatpro/development_solutions/safety-critical/feed
- GNAT Pro High-Integrity Edition for MILS http://www.adacore.com/home/products/gnatpro/development_solutions/safety-critical/mils
- SPARK Pro http://www.adacore.com/home/products/sparkpro/feed
- SPARK Pro Black-Belt Edition http://www.adacore.com/home/products/sparkpro/black_belt
Safety-critical and security-critical development: specialized tools and libraries