Building a Modern Blog Engine in Ada: A Technical Journey
Creating a blog engine from scratch is always an interesting challenge, but doing it in Ada brings unique advantages and some interesting technical decisions. What makes this project particularly interesting is that it was vibe coded almost entirely - built through intuitive exploration and iterative development rather than rigid planning. This post chronicles the complete journey of building this blog engine, from initial concept to containerized deployment.
Why Ada for a Blog Engine?
Ada might seem like an unusual choice for web development, but it offers compelling advantages:
Strong Type Safety
Ada's type system catches many errors at compile time that would become runtime bugs in other languages. For a blog engine handling user content and HTTP requests, this reliability is invaluable.
Memory Safety
Unlike C/C++, Ada provides memory safety without garbage collection overhead. This makes it ideal for server applications that need to run reliably for extended periods.
Mature Ecosystem
The Ada Web Server (AWS) library provides robust HTTP server capabilities, and the Templates Parser offers clean separation between logic and presentation.
Performance
Ada compiles to efficient native code, providing excellent performance for serving web content.
Architecture Overview
The blog engine follows a clean, modular architecture:
Core Components
blog_server.adb - Main Server
The entry point that configures and starts the AWS HTTP server. Initially designed for interactive use, it was later modified for containerized deployment with daemon mode.
blog-handlers.adb - Request Routing
Handles HTTP request routing with pattern matching for:
- Root path (/) → Blog index
- Post paths (postNAME) → Individual posts
- Static files (static*) → CSS, images, etc.
- 404 handling for unknown paths
blog-posts.adb - Content Management
Manages blog post storage and retrieval:
- Reads .org files from the posts/ directory
- Parses org-mode metadata (title, date, author)
- Implements date-based sorting (most recent first)
- Provides post content retrieval
blog-templates.adb - Template Rendering
Uses AWS Templates Parser for clean HTML generation:
- Separates presentation from logic
- Supports template variables (@_VAR_@)
- Implements table rendering for post lists
- Renders base template with content injection
blog-orgmode.adb - Content Processing
Converts org-mode markup to HTML, supporting:
- Headers and text formatting
- Code blocks with syntax highlighting
- Lists and basic org-mode structures
Template System
The template architecture uses AWS Templates Parser with four main templates:
base.html - Layout Template
Provides the overall page structure, navigation, and styling framework.
index.html - Blog Index
Displays recent posts with metadata using table rendering for dynamic content.
post.html - Individual Post
Shows full post content with title, metadata, and formatted content.
404.html - Error Handling
Clean error page for missing content.
Technical Challenges and Solutions
Template Variable Syntax
Challenge: Initial confusion with AWS Templates Parser variable syntax.
Solution: Discovered the correct format: @_VARIABLE_NAME_@ in templates, "VARIABLE_NAME" in code associations.
Static vs Dynamic Linking
Challenge: Desire for fully static executable for easy deployment.
Reality: Ada runtime and AWS libraries are typically shared libraries. Achieved partial static linking for C/C++ components while accepting dynamic dependencies for Ada libraries.
Docker Environment Issues
Challenge: GPR build failures due to missing HARDWARE_PLATFORM environment variable.
Solution: Used Fedora 41 instead of latest, added fedora-gnat-project-common package, and used bash -l -c to reload environment profiles.
Container-Friendly Server
Challenge: Original server waited for stdin input, causing crashes in detached containers.
Solution: Replaced blocking Skip_Line with infinite loop using delay for daemon mode operation.
Post Sorting
Challenge: Posts displayed in filesystem order rather than chronological order.
Solution: Implemented bubble sort comparing YYYY-MM-DD date strings for descending chronological order.
Development Evolution
Phase 1: Basic Structure
- Created minimal HTTP server with AWS
- Implemented basic request routing
- Added simple template rendering
Phase 2: Template Integration
- Replaced manual HTML concatenation with AWS Templates Parser
- Implemented proper variable substitution
- Added table rendering for dynamic post lists
Phase 3: Content Management
- Added org-mode file parsing
- Implemented metadata extraction
- Created post content retrieval system
Phase 4: Containerization
- Created multi-stage Dockerfile
- Resolved Ada build environment issues
- Implemented container-friendly server mode
Phase 5: User Experience
- Added date-based post sorting
- Improved template organization
- Enhanced error handling
Pros and Cons of the Architecture
Advantages
Type Safety
Ada's strong typing prevents many common web application vulnerabilities and runtime errors.
Performance
Native compilation provides excellent performance for serving static and dynamic content.
Reliability
Memory safety and exception handling create a robust server that can run for extended periods.
Clean Separation
Template-based rendering cleanly separates presentation from business logic.
Minimal Dependencies
Core functionality relies only on standard Ada libraries plus AWS and Templates Parser.
Container-Ready
Multi-stage Docker build creates minimal runtime images with only necessary dependencies.
Disadvantages
Learning Curve
Ada web development has fewer resources and examples compared to mainstream web frameworks.
Limited Ecosystem
Fewer third-party libraries compared to languages like Python, JavaScript, or Go.
Build Complexity
GPR project files and Ada compilation can be more complex than scripting languages.
Static Linking Limitations
Full static linking is challenging due to shared library dependencies.
Development Speed
Compile-time safety comes at the cost of slower iteration compared to interpreted languages.
Deployment Strategy
Local Development
- Simple make build for development builds
- make run for local testing
- Hot-reload requires manual restart
Production Deployment
- Multi-stage Docker build for optimized containers
- Fedora 41 base for stable Ada environment
- Non-root user execution for security
- Minimal runtime dependencies
Build Targets
- build-dynamic: Standard build with shared libraries
- build-static: Partial static linking for C/C++ components
- docker-build: Containerized build and deployment
Performance Characteristics
Memory Usage
Low memory footprint due to no garbage collection and efficient Ada runtime.
Response Time
Fast response times for both static files and dynamic content generation.
Scalability
Single-threaded design suitable for personal blogs; would need threading for high-traffic sites.
Resource Efficiency
Minimal CPU usage during idle periods, efficient template rendering.
Future Enhancements
Potential Improvements
- RSS/Atom feed generation
- Comment system integration
- Search functionality
- Tag-based categorization
- Multi-threading for concurrent requests
- Admin interface for content management
- Markdown support alongside org-mode
Architectural Considerations
- Database integration for larger content volumes
- Caching layer for improved performance
- API endpoints for headless CMS usage
- Plugin system for extensibility
Lessons Learned
Ada for Web Development
Ada is surprisingly well-suited for web applications when reliability and performance are priorities. The AWS library provides solid HTTP server capabilities.
Template Systems
Clean separation between logic and presentation is crucial. AWS Templates Parser provides this while maintaining type safety.
Container Deployment
Modern deployment practices work well with Ada applications, though build environment setup requires attention to detail.
Development Process
The compile-time safety of Ada catches many issues early, leading to more reliable software despite longer development cycles.
Conclusion
Building a blog engine in Ada has been an enlightening experience. While it requires more upfront investment in understanding the language and ecosystem, the result is a reliable, performant, and maintainable web application.
The strong type system, memory safety, and excellent performance characteristics make Ada an underrated choice for web development, especially for applications where reliability is paramount.
For developers interested in exploring alternatives to mainstream web technologies, Ada offers a unique combination of safety, performance, and elegance that's worth considering for your next project.
The complete source code and Docker deployment configuration demonstrate that Ada can indeed be a practical choice for modern web development, bringing the language's renowned reliability to the web application domain.