Learning Ada: Source Code and Newbie "Forum"?

Question

I've been reading about Ada, which looks like an awesome and mature language. But despite its history and real-world use (and even a pretty good IDE!), it's not very "Internet-popular." So I'm looking for resources now that Google isn't doing much for me anymore. The wikibook has a lot of breadth but was pretty terse and I found it hard to understand. I've checked out the book scene on Amazon, and I'm sure there are a couple good ones, but they are generally older and pretty expensive so I haven't made the plunge yet.

Rosetta Code Ada examples have been helpful, but I'd definitely appreciate something in between that and something big like GNAT.

And if it exists, I'd love a place where I can have some discussions and Q&A that welcomes new Ada programmers. (I'm sure there's probably a comp.lang.ada or something, but ever since I tried asking beginner questions on comp.lang.lisp I tend to be leery of bugging the battle-worn with questions they don't find interesting.)

Anyway I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask in case anyone has recommendations.

Answer 1

Don't go to Ada Home; the Ada community would love to bring it up to date but the owner isn't interested.

The Ada Information Clearinghouse, particularly the 'learning materials' section, is a good start. There's similar information in the 'Free on-line books/courses'. I especially liked John English's book (use this link instead of the one at AdaIC). Others recommend Ada Distilled.

Answer 2

I find that comp.lang.ada is the place to be. Lots of enthusiasts, people with huge experience (even some language designer), but people that don't mind helping newbies too.

There's too an #ada channel in some IRC (perhaps freenode?), that might be a good place for quick Q&A, though I cannot say by personal experience.