Re: Confused about Attribute Size?

[Jeffrey Carter <jrcarter@acm.org>]

Mark Johnson wrote:
> 
> > for My_Type'Size use 8;
> >
> Another representation specification. In this case, you are asking that
> the 16 possible values to be stored in an eight bit byte (or larger).
> There are several cases where the compiler can use more than 8 bits to
> store My_Type...
>  - a record component if the record is NOT packed
>  - array components
>  - a formal parameter passed to a function or procedure
> There are several pages of dense text in the Annotated Ada Reference
> Manual in section 13.3 that describes this in far more detail that I
> will attempt to describe - especially to a newbie.

A 'Size specification on a type instructs the compiler to use that size
for components of packed records and arrays. In most other cases
(records with the layout specified is an exception), the compiler may
use any size it chooses.

-- 
Jeff Carter
"Go and boil your bottoms."
Monty Python & the Holy Grail