Re: Is the Writing on the Wall for Ada?

[Marin David Condic <nobody@noplace.com>]

O.K. So you actually have, and do, use it in real applications.

It makes a kind of good sense to say "I get this string from a database 
and it is always 80 bytes long at max, so I'll make a Bounded_String to 
match it." That's an issue of having to match the external reality while 
getting the most use you can from Ada's tools. When I've had 
circumstances such as this, I'd end up with a "String (1..80)" - mostly 
because I'd feel like I was spitting into the wind with respect to the 
rest of the language by using a Bounded_String and I probably couldn't 
read it directly into a Bounded_String anyway, so why bother with the 
conversion? It might depend some on how you intended to use the 
Bounded_String - lots of manipulation might make the rest of the package 
more handy, but if all you're going to do is pass it around and print it 
out, then String might work just as well.

But do you use Bounded_String in circumstances where you get to design 
the whole thing from bottom-dead-center? (You don't have to match the 
external reality - you can create the external reality to suit your needs.)

MDC

Robert I. Eachus wrote:
> 
> Exactly, I often use several instances of Bounded_String when working 
> with a database.  Since the name or whatever does have a maximum length 
> it makes much more sense to limit it at the point of creation, where you 
> can handle errors in a more meaningful manner.



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