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  • questions regarding Docker, Ada and Alire

    From Kenneth Wolcott@21:1/5 to All on Tue Oct 3 14:44:54 2023
    Hi;

    Has anybody used a Docker container with Ada and Alire (obviously Linux)?

    If so,

    1. did you create a Docker image using a Dockerfile?

    or

    2. did you find a Docker base (eg: official Docker Ubuntu) image and modify it by downloading gnat source, compiling and installing it and then downloading Alire, compiling and installing it?

    or

    3. Found an exiting Docker Linux image with all of the above all nicely preconfigured?

    If you used a Dockerfile, would you mind sharing it?

    I'm on a Mac with M1 chip and would like to consider getting Ada and Alire working in this manner as an alternative that *might* work more effectively than what I'm trying now.

    Thanks,
    Ken Wolcott

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  • From Kenneth Wolcott@21:1/5 to Kenneth Wolcott on Tue Oct 3 17:02:55 2023
    On Tuesday, October 3, 2023 at 2:44:56 PM UTC-7, Kenneth Wolcott wrote:
    Hi;

    Has anybody used a Docker container with Ada and Alire (obviously Linux)?

    If so,

    1. did you create a Docker image using a Dockerfile?

    or

    2. did you find a Docker base (eg: official Docker Ubuntu) image and modify it by downloading gnat source, compiling and installing it and then downloading Alire, compiling and installing it?

    or

    3. Found an exiting Docker Linux image with all of the above all nicely preconfigured?

    If you used a Dockerfile, would you mind sharing it?

    I'm on a Mac with M1 chip and would like to consider getting Ada and Alire working in this manner as an alternative that *might* work more effectively than what I'm trying now.

    Thanks,
    Ken Wolcott

    Update:

    I chose the gcc linux/amd64 Docker Official Image (could have chosen Ubuntu, Fedora, Debian, Rocky, etc).

    I downloaded the Linux Alire package and copied it over to the Docker container interactively running bash using the aforementioned Docker image.

    I was able to get Alire to install the gnat native compiler for gcc13.

    Now what remains is for me to re-learn how to use Docker and how to use Alire...like getting the Alire Docker container environment to be persistent...

    Perhaps I will try a different official Docker image as a base to start with as I really don't need anything gcc related that Alire doesn't provide...

    Perhaps I will try to create my own Dockerfile to create my own Docker image in which to run containers from.

    I was hoping (still hoping) to get some sage advice from those here on any gotchas or suggestions to enhance the experience...

    Thanks,
    Ken

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  • From =?UTF-8?B?U3TDqXBoYW5lIFJpdmnDqHJl?@21:1/5 to All on Wed Oct 4 10:29:10 2023
    Hi Kenneth,

    Docker's main relevant use is to offer, at the price of a slight loss of performance (~15% max), a solid integration for a complex application
    including multiple linked programmes (e.g. a mail server).

    Docker's interface and standardization make it a pleasure to use. Docker
    is also a fast way of deploying a test environment and, in some cases,
    Docker is the best way to install an application.

    But today's followers sheep swear by micro-services¹, docker, k8s and
    other concepts that make applications huge, horribly complex and non-debuggable...

    ¹ Since many coders are unable to create more than a few hundred
    coherent lines, let's multiply these blocks of code into hundreds of micro-services, which communicate in a complex and inefficient way.

    So, docker is good, Alire is great, but these concepts don't solve
    everything. It could be an interesting experiment to link the two if
    there are complex program associations.

    For example, Docker and Ada could be combined to create a business
    application with an integrated MySQL or PostgreSQL DB. Even if the
    adoption of the very powerful SQLite would make it possible not to use
    Docker.

    We avoid using Docker in our multi-DC infrastructure based on Xen and
    Debian since we already handle Xen virtual instances. We also observed
    that a Docker instance was less reliable and secure than a virtualized
    Xen or KVM instance.

    We look forward to hearing about your experiences :)

    --
    Stéphane Rivière
    Ile d'Oléron - France

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