Porting the GNAT Ada Compiler to macOS/aarch64: A Triumphant Journey
2025-01-16
Following a successful GDC compiler port to his new MacBook Pro, the author tackled the remaining Ada and Go compilers in the GCC suite. With Gccgo not yet mature on macOS, the focus shifted to GNAT Ada. Lacking pre-built packages, a virtual machine and the Alire tool were used to obtain an x86_64 GNAT compiler. A two-stage compilation process yielded a native macOS/aarch64 GNAT compiler, ultimately integrated with GDC into a single GCC suite. The resulting tarball is now available for others to use, eliminating the need for future manual ports.
Development
Ada compiler