Re: Query on portable bit extraction

[Jeffrey Carter <jrcarter@acm.org>]

I would recommend using a collection of bytes and ensuring that the same
bytes contain the same values on all platforms. Then extract the desired
parts of the desired bytes, combining them as required.

You can also, if you're sure the same bytes have the same values,
combine bytes into larger values using type conversions and shifts or
multiplications:

T1 := Shift_Left (Unsigned_16 (Byte_21), 8) or Unsigned_16 (Byte_22);
T2 := Shift_Right (T1, 6) and 2#0111_1111#; -- YYY_YYYY

Both work correctly regardless of endianness;

-- 
Jeff Carter
"I wave my private parts at your aunties."
Monty Python & the Holy Grail