RE: Need help on file parameter input

[srghsjm@grv.grace.cri.nz]

In Article <39cdks$ndh@zephyr.grace.cri.nz>
srghsjm@grv.grace.cri.nz writes:

>Some time ago (that means, at least a year) sometime posted a package
>on comp.lang.ada for parsing data items from a separate file specified
>as variable objects, a bit like the following:
>
>A := 1.2345
>S := "A STRING"
>
>At the time I thought "I'll have to pick that up...", and didn't...
>Now I have a need for such a package...
>
>Does anyone remember this posting, or what it was called ?
>
>| Stephen McNeill

To follow up on my own question...  I had mail from several people who managed
to point me in the right direction.  The package I had remembered, but could
not remember a name for is the Woodruff collection.  The package is located
in the PAL (where else !) and a heavily edited summary of the details is given
below.  The bit I was interested in was the name_io package.

Many thanks to those who helped.

Stephen

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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------
1. Taxonomy:
    SOFTWARE COMPONENTS
        WOODRUFF COLLECTION
------------------------------
2. Author:
    John P Woodruff
    Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
    PO Box 808
    Livermore CA 94550
    (510) 422 4661
------------------------------
3. Rights:
    Released to the Ada community; distribution unlimited
------------------------------
4. Abstract:
Woodruff Collection of Reusable Components for I/O in Ada

The complete list of items being submitted is
  Set_Of
  Input_Collection
  Polite_IO
  Matrix_IO
  Name_IO
  Test_Name_IO

1. Set_of
This is an implementation of the generic Set type, patterned after
the Pascal language Set type.

2. Input_Collection
    Input Collection is a repository of user inputs that are to be
dispensed to individual Objects at the beginning of a simulation run.
The input is obtained from some file(s) and retained in this package
until called for by some object.

3. Polite_IO
    Provide a polite, refined input organ for interactive data input.
The idea for this package comes from the package SafeIO in the Simtel20
repository, by J A Anderson of Texas Instruments.

4. Matrix_IO
  Matrix_IO provides a full set of IO services based on text_io that
can read and write Vectors and Matrices.  The interface entry names and
parameter signatures exactly duplicate the procedures in long_float_text_io.

5. Name_IO
  Name_IO implements name-directed input in a generic package.
The package is able to deliver values bound to variables from an input
stream that looks like:
      A = 1.0 ;               		 a floating scalar
      V := 3, 4, 5 ;				 a three-vector
      Filename => "Test.dat;2" ;		 a string
      Enum  = Users_Enumerated_Constant ;	 Enumeration value

      The format for the input to be parsed is a sequence of
    {  <Ada_Id> [assignment] <Value> ; }.
  <Ada_Id> is any legal Ada identifier.
  The optional [assignment] can be any of "=", ":=", or "=>".
  Semicolon separators are required between assignments.
  The form of <Value> is determined by the type of
the variable, and is defined by Polite_IO.Float_Decode for floating
values, and by Matrix_IO.Get for vectors and matrices.
(The semicolon forms a terminator on a string that will be
parsed as a value, without placing any lexical requirement on
value, allowing the generic get_item to deliver an enumerated value.)

------------------------------
5. Directory Listing:

languages/ada/swcomps/woodruff.zip:
  File Name                 Size
  ---------                 ----
  woodruff.zip            54,875


Totals
  ==============  ==============
    1 Files               54,875