Re: Ada to 'C' parameter passing problem

[Jeffrey Carter <jrcarter@acm.org>]

Stuart Palin wrote:
> Simon Wright wrote:
> 
>>I recall Robert Dewar saying that he thought that restricting
>>functions to "in" (or access) parameters was a Bad Idea -- Ada is a
>>programming language, not a mathematical abstraction, and there is
>>nothing in Ada to stop a function modifying global state. (Praise be,
>>say I). But Robert got outvoted during the Ada 9X process.
> 
> [RD does not usually make unconsidered statements, so I
> would be interested in reading his line of arguments.  Is it
> available somewhere convenient?]

I'm sure it is; have you tried a search on Google groups? I think I can 
restate RD's basic argument: Functions already allow side effects, just 
not explicit side effects on their parameters. Disallowing them is an 
unnecessary impediment to developers and makes interfacing to other 
languages more difficult than is necessary; allowing them would make 
some side effects more visible.

-- 
Jeff Carter
"If you don't get the President of the United States on that
phone, ... you're going to have to answer to the Coca-Cola
Company."
Dr. Strangelove