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From: pattis@cs.washington.edu (Richard Pattis)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada
Subject: Re: What is a "special function"?
Message-ID: <12823@june.cs.washington.edu>
Date: 18 Aug 90 01:10:51 GMT
References: <56685@microsoft.UUCP>
Organization: U of Washington, Computer Science, Seattle
Keywords: attributes, 'VAL, LRM
Summary: Here is my vote
List-Id: <comp.lang.ada>

In article <56685@microsoft.UUCP>, johnro@microsoft.UUCP (John ROGERS) writes:
> Hi!  Could someone please clarify something in the LRM for me?  I've
> been looking at the definitions of all of the attributes, and I noticed
> something for the first time.  At least 5 of the attributes are described as
> "functions", but 1 of the attributes is described as a "special function".
> The regular ones ('IMAGE, 'POS, 'PRED, 'SUCC, and 'VALUE) don't seem to be
> much different from the "special" one ('VAL).  I haven't been able to
> find anything in the LRM (or the index to the Rationale that I have)
> on this.  So, can anyone tell me what a "special function" is?

This is like Seasme Street(?): one of these things is not like the others,
one of these things just doesn't belong....


I vote that the difference, derived from a real close reading of the LRM
(how else does one read it) is that while all the other functions state the
type of their parameter (it must be a unique type), VAL allows any
integer type as its parameter.  Does that make it "special" enough.
Follow ups to Church Lady.

Rich Pattis