Ada 9X _has_ "class"

[magnus@lglsun.epfl.ch (Magnus Kempe)]

For those concerned with market penetration.

Ada 9X _does_ have classes (conceptually and literally):

	type T_Ref is access T'class; -- note: "class"

	procedure P (X : T'class) is  -- note: "class"
	  Y : T'class := X;           -- note: "class"
	begin
	  ...
	end P;

In addition, Ada 9X clearly distinguishes between types that belong
to classes ("Tag", they're it...) and types that don't.  This is
particularly important for real-time systems.  Some people might
want to avoid any possibility of e.g. hidden run-time type-checking
or dynamic binding.  The real-time community has contributed many
requirements to the language (have you seen the protected types?
the distributed systems annex?).  Ada is not a toy language.

-- 
Magnus Kempe                "No nation was ever drunk when wine was cheap."
magnus@lglsun.epfl.ch                                   -- Thomas Jefferson