help with pointerproblem.

help with pointerproblem.

[Roger Carlsson]

Hello.

I'm writing a program in ada95 with opengl on W95.

I have the following definitions in GL.ads:

type GLubyte     is new C.unsigned_char;
type GLpointer   is access all GLubyte;  -- our substitute for "void *"

and

procedure (.......; x : GLpointer);


My own types:

type VertexArray is array (NATURAL range <>) of aliased GLfloat;
type VertexArrayPtr is access VertexArray;


and in the program:
VPtr : VertexArrayPtr;
.....

VPtr := new VertexArray(0 .. n);


procedure(....., GLpointer(VPtr));

I want to give the procedure my VertexArray as argument x.
My question is: How do i convert my VertexarrayPtr to a GLpointer?
I have tried different solutions but the compiler complains like:
Target designated type not compatible with type VertexArray.

If i can not. Can i rewrite my own types so it works?
The VertexArray must hold GLfloat's.


Thank You.
Roger.

Re: help with pointerproblem.

[Steve Doiel]

Roger Carlsson wrote in message <35f7f673.0@newsfeed.uu.se>...
>Hello.
>
>I'm writing a program in ada95 with opengl on W95.
>
>I have the following definitions in GL.ads:
>
>type GLubyte     is new C.unsigned_char;
>type GLpointer   is access all GLubyte;  -- our substitute for "void *"
>
>and
>
>procedure (.......; x : GLpointer);
>
>
>My own types:
>
>type VertexArray is array (NATURAL range <>) of aliased GLfloat;
>type VertexArrayPtr is access VertexArray;
>
>
>and in the program:
>VPtr : VertexArrayPtr;
>.....
>
>VPtr := new VertexArray(0 .. n);
>
>
>procedure(....., GLpointer(VPtr));
>
>I want to give the procedure my VertexArray as argument x.
>My question is: How do i convert my VertexarrayPtr to a GLpointer?
>I have tried different solutions but the compiler complains like:
>Target designated type not compatible with type VertexArray.
>
>If i can not. Can i rewrite my own types so it works?
>The VertexArray must hold GLfloat's.
>


You could give the following a shot.

with System.Address_To_Access_Conversions;
.
.
package ToGlPointerPackage is new
  System.Address_To_Access_Conversions( GLUbyte );

function ToGLpointer( vPtr : VertexArrayPtr) return GLPointer IS
begin
  return GLPointer( ToGlPointerPackage.To_Pointer( vPtr.ALL'ADDRESS ) );
end ToGLpointer;

I'm not sure about correctness, but it makes the compiler happy.

I hope this helps,
SteveD

Re: help with pointerproblem.

[Wayne Magor]

"Steve Doiel" <steved@pacifier.com> writes:

>Roger Carlsson wrote in message <35f7f673.0@newsfeed.uu.se>...
>>Hello.
>>
>>I'm writing a program in ada95 with opengl on W95.
>>
>>I have the following definitions in GL.ads:
>>
>>type GLubyte     is new C.unsigned_char;
>>type GLpointer   is access all GLubyte;  -- our substitute for "void *"
>>
>>and
>>
>>procedure (.......; x : GLpointer);
>>
>>
>>My own types:
>>
>>type VertexArray is array (NATURAL range <>) of aliased GLfloat;
>>type VertexArrayPtr is access VertexArray;
>>
>>
>>and in the program:
>>VPtr : VertexArrayPtr;
>>.....
>>
>>VPtr := new VertexArray(0 .. n);
>>
>>
>>procedure(....., GLpointer(VPtr));
>>
>>I want to give the procedure my VertexArray as argument x.
>>My question is: How do i convert my VertexarrayPtr to a GLpointer?
>>I have tried different solutions but the compiler complains like:
>>Target designated type not compatible with type VertexArray.
>>
>>If i can not. Can i rewrite my own types so it works?
>>The VertexArray must hold GLfloat's.
>>
>
>
>You could give the following a shot.
>
>with System.Address_To_Access_Conversions;
>.
>.
>package ToGlPointerPackage is new
>  System.Address_To_Access_Conversions( GLUbyte );
>
>function ToGLpointer( vPtr : VertexArrayPtr) return GLPointer IS
>begin
>  return GLPointer( ToGlPointerPackage.To_Pointer( vPtr.ALL'ADDRESS ) );
>end ToGLpointer;
>
>I'm not sure about correctness, but it makes the compiler happy.


Since VertexArray is unconstrained, there will have to be a descriptor
someplace.  It's likely the pointer points to the descriptor instead
of the data.  I'd prefer to take the 'address of element zero of the
array.  Seems to me that's more likely to work across nearly all
platforms.  Like this:

  return GLPointer (ToGlPointerPackage.To_Pointer (vPtr(0)'Address));


Wayne.

Re: help with pointerproblem.

[Mats Weber]

Wayne Magor wrote:

> Since VertexArray is unconstrained, there will have to be a descriptor
> someplace.  It's likely the pointer points to the descriptor instead
> of the data.  I'd prefer to take the 'address of element zero of the
> array.  Seems to me that's more likely to work across nearly all
> platforms.  Like this:
> 
>   return GLPointer (ToGlPointerPackage.To_Pointer (vPtr(0)'Address));

This (taking the address of the first element instead of the address of the
array) is a hack that is not necessary anymore with Ada 95, because the RM now
says it has to be the same.

   return GLPointer (ToGlPointerPackage.To_Pointer (vPtr'Address));

is just fine.

Re: help with pointerproblem.

[Mats Weber]

Roger Carlsson wrote:
 
> I'm writing a program in ada95 with opengl on W95.
> 
> I have the following definitions in GL.ads:
> 
> type GLubyte     is new C.unsigned_char;
> type GLpointer   is access all GLubyte;  -- our substitute for "void *"

The substibute for void * in Ada is called System.Address.

Just write your C subporgrams in Ada with System.Address as parameters, e.g:

   function example (X : System.Address) return Interfaces.C.Int;

   pragma Import (C, example);

   ...

   Z : VertexArray(...);

   Result := example(Z'Address);

I have always done it this way and it works great will all compilers I have used.

Another approach is using access parameters (you get better type checking this
way) but I'll let someone else decribe that (I have never used it myself).

Re: help with pointerproblem.

[dewarr]

In article <6ta4lf$e0b1@onews.collins.rockwell.com>,
  No@Junk.Mail wrote:
>
> Since VertexArray is unconstrained, there will have to be a descriptor
> someplace.  It's likely the pointer points to the descriptor instead
> of the data.  I'd prefer to take the 'address of element zero of the
> array.  Seems to me that's more likely to work across nearly all
> platforms.  Like this:
>
>   return GLPointer (ToGlPointerPackage.To_Pointer (vPtr(0)'Address));
>


This is incorrect, it is in fact rather unlikely that the
pointer points to the descriptor. The two more common ways
of implementing unconstrained pointers are as follows:

1. Fat pointers, as used by GNAT by default. Here the pointer
is two pointers, one to the data and one to the descriptor.

2. Thin pointers, as used by GNAT if a size clause is used
to force single pointer length. Here the pointer is to the
data, but the bounds are just "behind" the data. Many other
Ada compilers have used this technique.

It is actually quite rare to point to a descriptor (I think
that the RR compiler may have done this at least at one
point).

Even if the pointer *does* point to the descriptor, you still
should expect that arr'address is the address of the first
element on an Ada 95 compiler because of RM 13.3(14):

  For an array X, X'Address should point at the first
  component of the array, and not at the array bounds.

This is implementation advice rather than a requirement, but
a compiler is supposed to follow implementation advice unless
there is a good reason not to, and it is hard to imagine that
this obviously good advice would not be followed. Moreover,
if your compiler does not follow it, then this MUST be
documented, this is a requirement of annex M.

If you have an Ada 95 compiler which does not follow this
implementation advice, I would report it as a bug to your
vendor.

Nevertheless, the caution of using the address of the first
element is a reasonably one, which might possibly help you
out with a recalcitrant vendor who for some reason refused
to follow this implementation advice. Most certainly GNAT
DOES follow this advice, and every other Ada 95 compiler
which I am aware of also follows this advice.

Robert Dewar
Ada Core Technologies

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Re: help with pointerproblem.

[Matthew Heaney]

dewarr@my-dejanews.com writes:

> It is actually quite rare to point to a descriptor (I think
> that the RR compiler may have done this at least at one
> point).

Access objects designating unconstrained arrays in the VMS Ada compiler
(circa 1990) pointed to the descriptor, which pointed to the array
itself.

To get around this, bindings would be written to point to a large
constrained array, as in:

type Character_Array is 
  array (Natural range 0 .. 1_000_000) of Character;

type String is access Character_Array;
for String'Storage_Size use 0;

Obviously, you don't ever designate an actual array of that size, but
the representation of the access type matches that of the C code on the
other side.  It's up to the programmer to find the real end of the array
(usually by searching for the null character, or for whatever value
designates the end-of-array).

The SUN compiler I'm using now implements unconstrained array access
types using the thin pointer technique.