Building a Package by Adding Ada Support to GCC14 in FreeBSD Ports


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This guide explains the entire process of modifying the lang/gcc14 port in FreeBSD to enable Ada language support, compiling it, and finally generating an installable package file.

This process requires bootstrapping. That is, a working Ada compiler must already be installed on the system to build the Ada frontend (GNAT) of GCC 14.

Step 1: Install Bootstrap Compiler

First, install the gnat13 compiler to serve as the bootstrap for building GCC14. Without this step, the compilation of the GCC14 Ada frontend will fail.

sudo pkg install gnat13

Step 2: Set Environment Variables

Add the path of gnat13 to the beginning of the PATH environment variable so that the build system locates the compiler of the recently installed gnat13 before other GCC versions on the system.

# Add gnat13 path to the current shell session
export PATH=/usr/local/gnat13/bin:$PATH

# Verify that PATH is set correctly
echo $PATH
# Example output: /usr/local/gnat13/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin...

Set the CC and CXX environment variables to gcc and g++, respectively.

export CC=gcc
export CXX=g++

Step 3: Modify Port Files

Navigate to the lang/gcc14 port directory and modify the relevant files to ensure Ada-related files are included in the package.

cd /usr/ports/lang/gcc14

Refer to the following diff content to modify three files: Makefile, pkg-descr, and pkg-plist.

diff --git a/lang/gcc14/Makefile b/lang/gcc14/Makefile
index 3f2d7cf484..89ffefc12e 100644
--- a/lang/gcc14/Makefile
+++ b/lang/gcc14/Makefile
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ PORTVERSION=    14.2.0
 PORTREVISION=  4
 CATEGORIES=    lang
 MASTER_SITES=  GCC
-PKGNAMESUFFIX= ${SUFFIX}
+PKGNAMESUFFIX= ${SUFFIX}-ada

 MAINTAINER=    salvadore@FreeBSD.org
 COMMENT=       GNU Compiler Collection 14
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ CONFIGURE_TARGET=      x86_64-portbld-${OPSYS:tl}${OSREL}
 CONFIGURE_ARGS+=       --with-abi=elfv2
 .endif

-LANGUAGES=     c,c++,objc,fortran
+LANGUAGES=     c,c++,objc,fortran,ada
 .if ${ARCH} != i386 && !empty(PORT_OPTIONS:M*BOOTSTRAP)
 LANGUAGES:=    ${LANGUAGES},jit
 .endif
@@ -134,6 +134,9 @@ INFO=               gcc${SUFFIX}/cpp \
                gcc${SUFFIX}/gccinstall \
                gcc${SUFFIX}/gccint \
                gcc${SUFFIX}/gfortran \
+               gcc${SUFFIX}/gnat-style \
+               gcc${SUFFIX}/gnat_rm \
+               gcc${SUFFIX}/gnat_ugn \
                gcc${SUFFIX}/libgccjit \
                gcc${SUFFIX}/libgomp
 # Release tarballs (as opposed to snapshots) always carry this.
diff --git a/lang/gcc14/pkg-descr b/lang/gcc14/pkg-descr
index 4802e1f26c..5987959593 100644
--- a/lang/gcc14/pkg-descr
+++ b/lang/gcc14/pkg-descr
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 GCC, the GNU Compiler Collection, supports a number of languages.
-This port installs the C, C++, and Fortran front ends as gcc14, g++14,
-and gfortran14, respectively.
+This port installs the C, C++, Fortran, and Ada front ends as gcc14, g++14,
+gfortran14, and gnat14 respectively.
diff --git a/lang/gcc14/pkg-plist b/lang/gcc14/pkg-plist
index 8dcc98c6dd..26c9ba393d 100644
--- a/lang/gcc14/pkg-plist
+++ b/lang/gcc14/pkg-plist
@@ -17,6 +17,16 @@ bin/gcov%%SUFFIX%%
 bin/gcov-dump%%SUFFIX%%
 bin/gcov-tool%%SUFFIX%%
 bin/gfortran%%SUFFIX%%
+bin/gnat%%SUFFIX%%
+bin/gnatbind%%SUFFIX%%
+bin/gnatchop%%SUFFIX%%
+bin/gnatclean%%SUFFIX%%
+bin/gnatkr%%SUFFIX%%
+bin/gnatlink%%SUFFIX%%
+bin/gnatls%%SUFFIX%%
+bin/gnatmake%%SUFFIX%%
+bin/gnatname%%SUFFIX%%
+bin/gnatprep%%SUFFIX%%
 bin/lto-dump%%SUFFIX%%
 include/gcc%%SUFFIX%%/ISO_Fortran_binding.h
 share/man/man1/cpp%%SUFFIX%%.1.gz

Step 4: Compile and Packaging

Since all file modifications are complete, proceed with compilation and packaging using the make package command.

# Proceed with compilation and package generation simultaneously
make package
  • Compilation Time: This process may take anywhere from tens of minutes to several hours, depending on system specifications.
  • make Behavior: If the source code is not yet compiled, make package automatically executes the compilation (build) phase first before generating the package.

Step 5: Package Verification, Installation, and Validation

Once compilation is complete, this step involves installing the built package onto the system and verifying it is applied correctly.

Verify Build Artifacts: Package File Inspection

First, verify that the package file has been created correctly.

The generated package is located in work/pkg/ under the port directory.

ls -l work/pkg/

You should see a file with a name similar to gcc14-14.2.0_4.pkg.

Before installation, you can verify whether gnat related files are actually included in the package using the following command. This is an effective way to validate if the build successfully included Ada.

pkg info -l -F work/pkg/gcc14-14.2.0_4.pkg | grep gnat
        /usr/local/bin/gnat14
        /usr/local/bin/gnatbind14
        /usr/local/bin/gnatchop14
        /usr/local/bin/gnatclean14
        /usr/local/bin/gnatkr14
        /usr/local/bin/gnatlink14
        /usr/local/bin/gnatls14
        /usr/local/bin/gnatmake14
        /usr/local/bin/gnatname14
        /usr/local/bin/gnatprep14
        /usr/local/lib/gcc14/gcc/x86_64-portbld-freebsd14.3/14.2.0/adainclude/gnat.ads
        /usr/local/lib/gcc14/gcc/x86_64-portbld-freebsd14.3/14.2.0/adalib/libgnat.a
        /usr/local/lib/gcc14/gcc/x86_64-portbld-freebsd14.3/14.2.0/adalib/libgnat-14.so
        /usr/local/lib/gcc14/gcc/x86_64-portbld-freebsd14.3/14.2.0/adalib/gnat.ali
        /usr/local/lib/gcc14/gcc/x86_64-portbld-freebsd14.3/14.2.0/adalib/libgnat.so
        /usr/local/lib/gcc14/gcc/x86_64-portbld-freebsd14.3/14.2.0/adalib/libgnat_pic.a
        /usr/local/libexec/gcc14/gcc/x86_64-portbld-freebsd14.3/14.2.0/gnat1
        /usr/local/share/info/gcc14/gnat-style.info
        /usr/local/share/info/gcc14/gnat_rm.info
        /usr/local/share/info/gcc14/gnat_ugn.info

If paths such as .../bin/gnat14 and .../bin/gnatmake14 are displayed as shown above, the Ada components have been correctly included.

Installation Options: make reinstall vs. pkg add

There are two methods to install the package on the system. In most cases, the first method, make reinstall, is recommended.

  • Method 1: Using make reinstall

    Situation: It is highly likely that gcc14 is already installed on the FreeBSD system because many other programs depend on it. In this case, the make install command will fail due to conflicts with the existing package.

    Solution: The make reinstall command first safely removes the existing gcc14 installation and then installs the newly built Ada-supported version in its place. This command handles removal and installation automatically, simplifying the procedure.

    # Remove the existing package and reinstall the newly built version
make reinstall

  • Method 2: Using pkg add (Manual Installation and Archiving)

    Purpose: This method is used when transferring the generated .pkg file to another system or keeping it for backup purposes.

    # Install directly using the pkg add command (requires root privileges)
$ sudo pkg add ./work/pkg/gcc14-14.2.0_4.pkg
Installing gcc14-14.2.0_4...
the most recent version of gcc14-14.2.0_4 is already installed

    This method may also fail if gcc14 is already installed on the system. In this case, you can use the -f (force) option to forcibly overwrite the existing installed package.

    $ sudo pkg add -f  work/pkg/gcc14-14.2.0_4.pkg
Installing gcc14-14.2.0_4...
package gcc14 is already installed, forced install

Final Installation Verification

After installation is complete, open a new terminal and verify that the Ada compiler is correctly recognized.

# Check gnat version
gnat14 --version
GNAT 14.2.0
Copyright 1996-2024, Free Software Foundation, Inc.

To list Ada build switches use --help-ada

List of available commands

gnat bind               gnatbind14
gnat chop               gnatchop14
gnat clean              gnatclean14
gnat compile            gnatmake14 -f -u -c
gnat check              gnatcheck14
gnat elim               gnatelim14
gnat krunch             gnatkr14
gnat link               gnatlink14
gnat list               gnatls14
gnat make               gnatmake14
gnat metric             gnatmetric14
gnat name               gnatname14
gnat preprocess         gnatprep14
gnat pretty             gnatpp14
gnat stack              gnatstack14
gnat stub               gnatstub14
gnat test               gnattest14


# Check gcc detailed information
gcc14 -v
Using built-in specs.
COLLECT_GCC=gcc14
COLLECT_LTO_WRAPPER=/usr/local/libexec/gcc14/gcc/x86_64-portbld-freebsd14.3/14.2.0/lto-wrapper
Target: x86_64-portbld-freebsd14.3
Configured with: /usr/ports/lang/gcc14/work/gcc-14.2.0/configure --disable-multilib --without-isl --with-build-config=bootstrap-debug --disable-nls --disable-libssp --enable-gnu-indirect-function --enable-host-shared --enable-plugin --libdir=/usr/local/lib/gcc14 --libexecdir=/usr/local/libexec/gcc14 --program-suffix=14 --with-as=/usr/local/bin/as --with-gmp=/usr/local --with-gxx-include-dir=/usr/local/lib/gcc14/include/c++/ --with-gxx-libcxx-include-dir=/usr/include/c++/v1 --with-ld=/usr/local/bin/ld --with-pkgversion='FreeBSD Ports Collection' --with-system-zlib --without-zstd --enable-languages=c,c++,objc,fortran,jit,ada --prefix=/usr/local --localstatedir=/var --mandir=/usr/local/share/man --infodir=/usr/local/share/info/gcc14 --build=x86_64-portbld-freebsd14.3
Thread model: posix
Supported LTO compression algorithms: zlib
gcc version 14.2.0 (FreeBSD Ports Collection)

If you see ada included in the Configured with: section of the gcc14 -v command output, such as --enable-languages=...ada..., the build has been completed correctly.