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From: Tucker Taft <stt@averstar.com>
Subject: Re: Abstract Subprograms of Untagged Types
Date: 1999/03/05
Date: 1999-03-05T00:00:00+00:00	[thread overview]
Message-ID: <36E04AA7.4CB8F686@averstar.com> (raw)
In-Reply-To: 7bp8bk$flc$1@plug.news.pipex.net

Nick Roberts wrote:
> I think the example above can be solved at a stroke by making the rule that an
> abstract subprogram is never a primitive operation of an untagged type (it's
> legal, but never inherited by derivatives of untagged types).

One reason we allow abstract primitives of an untagged type
is because one way to *disable* a particular primitive
that is inherited is to override it with an abstract primitive.

For example, if you declare a numeric type like "Meters" then
you automatically get an (inappropriate) multiplication operation 
that goes Meters * Meters => Meters.  One use of abstract primitives
is to override this operation and thereby make it uncallable.

> ... This was a judgement, and fair enough.  However, I disagree
> with it, and I would like to see the restrictions introduced in the next
> revision of Ada.

At this point, this seems very unlikely, since someone may
be quite happily taking advantage of the ability to declare
abstract primitives of an untagged type.

> ... But, surely it would be better still to force all compilers
> to reject such a confusing construct?

I'm not sure I see what is the big deal.  It doesn't
seem to cause any harm, and it might be useful (as exemplified
above).

> ...
> things, but they should give a warning (or error) when they can tell the
> programmer has (almost certainly) done something silly.

Identifying things that are harmless but silly can be difficult
and is probably more trouble than it is worth in most cases.
Identifying things that are likely to cause a run-time error
seems much more valuable.

> -------------------------------------
> Nick Roberts
> -------------------------------------

-- 
-Tucker Taft   stt@averstar.com   http://www.averstar.com/~stt/
Technical Director, Distributed IT Solutions  (www.averstar.com/tools)
AverStar (formerly Intermetrics, Inc.)   Burlington, MA  USA




  parent reply	other threads:[~1999-03-05  0:00 UTC|newest]

Thread overview: 128+ messages / expand[flat|nested]  mbox.gz  Atom feed  top
     [not found] <F7JoCB.JxB@syd.csa.com.au>
1999-02-24  0:00 ` Can't export object of private type Don Harrison
1999-02-24  0:00   ` Samuel Mize
1999-02-24  0:00     ` Tucker Taft
1999-02-25  0:00     ` Don Harrison
1999-02-25  0:00       ` robert_dewar
1999-02-26  0:00         ` Don Harrison
1999-02-26  0:00           ` robert_dewar
1999-02-26  0:00             ` bourguet
1999-02-26  0:00               ` Samuel T. Harris
1999-02-27  0:00                 ` Simon Wright
1999-02-27  0:00                 ` Jean-Pierre Rosen
1999-02-28  0:00               ` dewar
1999-03-01  0:00                 ` bourguet
1999-02-26  0:00             ` dennison
1999-03-01  0:00             ` Stephen Leake
1999-03-01  0:00             ` Don Harrison
1999-03-01  0:00               ` robert_dewar
1999-03-03  0:00                 ` Don Harrison
1999-03-03  0:00                   ` robert_dewar
1999-02-27  0:00         ` Brian Rogoff
1999-03-01  0:00           ` robert_dewar
1999-02-25  0:00       ` fraser
1999-02-26  0:00         ` Don Harrison
     [not found]           ` <7b6nqe$75m$1@remarq.com>
1999-02-26  0:00             ` fraser
1999-02-27  0:00               ` Nick Roberts
1999-02-26  0:00           ` fraser
1999-03-01  0:00             ` Don Harrison
1999-03-01  0:00               ` Matthew Heaney
1999-02-26  0:00           ` Samuel Mize
1999-03-01  0:00             ` Don Harrison
1999-03-01  0:00               ` Matthew Heaney
1999-03-02  0:00               ` fraser
1999-03-03  0:00                 ` Don Harrison
1999-02-28  0:00           ` Matthew Heaney
1999-02-28  0:00         ` Matthew Heaney
1999-02-25  0:00       ` Samuel Mize
1999-02-26  0:00         ` Don Harrison
1999-02-27  0:00           ` Nick Roberts
1999-03-01  0:00             ` Don Harrison
1999-03-01  0:00               ` Matthew Heaney
1999-03-01  0:00                 ` Nick Roberts
1999-03-01  0:00               ` Nick Roberts
1999-03-01  0:00                 ` Don Harrison
1999-03-02  0:00                   ` Matthew Heaney
1999-03-03  0:00                     ` Don Harrison
1999-03-03  0:00                       ` Samuel Mize
1999-03-04  0:00                         ` Don Harrison
1999-03-07  0:00                     ` Ehud Lamm
1999-03-03  0:00               ` Robert A Duff
1999-03-04  0:00                 ` Don Harrison
1999-03-04  0:00                   ` Robert A Duff
1999-03-01  0:00             ` Don Harrison
1999-03-02  0:00               ` Matthew Heaney
1999-02-28  0:00         ` Matthew Heaney
1999-03-01  0:00           ` Samuel Mize
1999-03-01  0:00           ` Nick Roberts
1999-03-01  0:00             ` Matthew Heaney
1999-03-02  0:00               ` Nick Roberts
1999-03-01  0:00             ` Matthew Heaney
1999-02-28  0:00       ` Matthew Heaney
1999-03-01  0:00       ` Tom Moran
1999-03-02  0:00         ` Matthew Heaney
1999-03-02  0:00           ` Tom Moran
1999-03-02  0:00             ` Matthew Heaney
1999-03-02  0:00               ` Tom Moran
1999-03-02  0:00                 ` Matthew Heaney
1999-03-02  0:00                   ` nabbasi
1999-03-02  0:00                     ` Matthew Heaney
1999-03-03  0:00                   ` Don Harrison
1999-03-03  0:00                     ` Single Extension; Polymorphic Arrays Nick Roberts
1999-03-03  0:00                       ` Nick Roberts
1999-03-08  0:00                         ` Matthew Heaney
1999-03-08  0:00                           ` Tucker Taft
     [not found]                             ` <m3ogm40wav.fsf@mheaney.ni.net>
1999-03-08  0:00                               ` Tucker Taft
1999-03-08  0:00                                 ` dennison
1999-03-09  0:00                                 ` Nick Roberts
1999-03-08  0:00                               ` Nick Roberts
1999-03-08  0:00                           ` Nick Roberts
1999-03-03  0:00               ` Can't export object of private type Don Harrison
1999-03-03  0:00                 ` Don Harrison
1999-03-03  0:00                   ` Nick Roberts
1999-03-04  0:00                     ` Don Harrison
1999-03-04  0:00                       ` Nick Roberts
1999-03-04  0:00                         ` robert_dewar
1999-03-05  0:00                           ` Nick Roberts
1999-03-05  0:00                         ` Robert A Duff
1999-03-05  0:00                           ` Abstract Subprograms of Untagged Types Nick Roberts
1999-03-05  0:00                             ` robert_dewar
1999-03-05  0:00                             ` Tucker Taft [this message]
1999-03-05  0:00                               ` Nick Roberts
1999-03-06  0:00                               ` robert_dewar
1999-03-04  0:00                       ` Can't export object of private type Nick Roberts
1999-03-08  0:00                         ` Matthew Heaney
1999-03-09  0:00                         ` Don Harrison
1999-03-09  0:00                           ` Matthew Heaney
1999-03-09  0:00                             ` Nick Roberts
1999-03-10  0:00                             ` Don Harrison
1999-03-10  0:00                               ` Matthew Heaney
1999-03-04  0:00                       ` fraser
1999-03-09  0:00                         ` Don Harrison
1999-03-08  0:00                     ` Matthew Heaney
1999-03-08  0:00                       ` Nick Roberts
1999-03-08  0:00                 ` Matthew Heaney
1999-03-10  0:00                   ` Don Harrison
1999-03-10  0:00                     ` Matthew Heaney
1999-03-10  0:00                       ` dennison
1999-03-10  0:00                         ` robert_dewar
1999-03-10  0:00                           ` dennison
1999-03-10  0:00                             ` robert_dewar
1999-03-10  0:00                               ` dennison
1999-03-11  0:00                                 ` robert_dewar
1999-03-11  0:00                                   ` Don Harrison
1999-03-12  0:00                                     ` robert_dewar
1999-03-11  0:00                                 ` bill
1999-03-11  0:00                                   ` dennison
1999-03-11  0:00                                   ` Scott Ingram
1999-03-11  0:00                                     ` Larry Kilgallen
1999-03-12  0:00                                   ` dewar
1999-03-11  0:00                                 ` dennison
1999-03-11  0:00                           ` Don Harrison
1999-03-10  0:00                         ` Robert A Duff
1999-03-10  0:00                           ` dennison
1999-03-11  0:00                             ` dennison
1999-03-10  0:00                           ` robert_dewar
1999-03-03  0:00           ` Don Harrison
1999-02-28  0:00     ` Matthew Heaney
1999-02-24  0:00   ` Tom Moran
1999-02-28  0:00   ` Matthew Heaney
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