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From: Adam Beneschan <adam@irvine.com>
Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada
Subject: Re: (Num_Types.Mod_4 range 1..8) ------->why not (1..8)?
Date: Mon, 18 May 2009 14:24:23 -0700 (PDT)
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On May 18, 1:53=A0pm, Georg Bauhaus <rm.tsoh.plus-
bug.bauh...@maps.futureapps.de> wrote:
> convergence82 wrote:
> > Thanks. =A0I'm looking at a Ada.Unchecked_Conversion function that
> > converts from Data_Array_1 to Data_Array_2:
> > type Data_Array_1 is array (Num_Types.Mod_4 range 1..8) of
> > Num_Types.Mod_8;
> > type Data_Array_2 is array (1..8) of Num_Types.Mod_8;
>
> Uhm, converting is what instances of Unchecked_Conversion
> do *not* do, in some (paradoxical) sense.
> To convert X of type T to X of type D, write D(X).
> An instance of Unchecked_Conversion will just leave
> the bits unchanged. The programmer should then know the
> meaning of the "converted" data. =A0An Ada array, however,
> is a bit more than a sequence of storage cells,
> when it includes bounds an other properties of the
> corresponding array type. =A0Hence, arrays of different
> type may be stored differenty.

This may be true in theory but I doubt that it is true in practice.
Both array types are constrained; therefore, the representation of the
array is almost certain to be just the eight data elements strung
together.  I doubt that any existing or future Ada compiler is going
to do things any differently, or store the bounds anywhere in the
array data.  Therefore, Unchecked_Conversion is most likely going to
work.  It's a poor idea to use it, though, since a regular Ada type
conversion is legal and is 100% guaranteed to be portable (as opposed
to only 99.9999% guaranteed for Unchecked_Conversion).

A case like this is harder:

type Enum_Type is (E0, E1, E2, E3, E4, E5, E6, E7);
type Data_Array_1 is array (Enum_Type) of Num_Types.Mod_8;
type Data_Array_2 is array (1..8) of Num_Types.Mod_8;

Now an Ada type conversion won't work, and the only way to convert
from one array type to another is to use a FOR loop or an abomination
like
    (1=3D>A(E0), 2=3D>A(E1), 3=3D>A(E2), ...)

                                   -- Adam