From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.9 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,FREEMAIL_FROM autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,88ed72d98e6b3457 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2003-10-11 11:25:12 PST Path: archiver1.google.com!news2.google.com!news.maxwell.syr.edu!newsfeed.mathworks.com!wn13feed!wn11feed!worldnet.att.net!204.127.198.203!attbi_feed3!attbi.com!rwcrnsc54.POSTED!not-for-mail Message-ID: <3F884AE3.1020209@comcast.net> From: "Robert I. Eachus" User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.0; en-US; rv:1.0.2) Gecko/20021120 Netscape/7.01 X-Accept-Language: en-us, en MIME-Version: 1.0 Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Re: Standard Library Interest? References: <3F81700B.1050701@noplace.com> <3F82014E.2040002@noplace.com> <3F8485B3.8010109@comcast.net> <3F855E0F.4070008@noplace.com> <3F86C5C2.5010501@comcast.net> <3F881A72.2010907@noplace.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit NNTP-Posting-Host: 24.34.139.183 X-Complaints-To: abuse@comcast.net X-Trace: rwcrnsc54 1065896712 24.34.139.183 (Sat, 11 Oct 2003 18:25:12 GMT) NNTP-Posting-Date: Sat, 11 Oct 2003 18:25:12 GMT Organization: Comcast Online Date: Sat, 11 Oct 2003 18:25:12 GMT Xref: archiver1.google.com comp.lang.ada:684 Date: 2003-10-11T18:25:12+00:00 List-Id: Marin David Condic wrote: > Well, as an "end user" in good standing, I'd say it did affect me. I > wanted portable source code I could take unchanged from one compiler to > another and I couldn't get there. (Not initially, at least) So there was > an impact. If I was maintaining code for two different compilers (not at > all unheard of) I'd have to go through gyrations of configuration > management to deal with it in some manner. True, but not realistic. Having been there and done that, there were two situations that arose. One, you had two compilers for the same hardware, and it was almost trivial to pick one version of the math libraries and treat it as part of your source code. But the much more frequent case was where I was targeting different hardware. Then choosing the "right" version of a library was complicated. For example, I had three bodies of the math libraries for the Amiga: 68000/68010, 68020/68030 with 68881/68882(IEEE), and 68020/68030 without math chip. It would have been nice to be able to build a single library that did the necessary tests when initialized and used the "right" routines automatically, but that didn't work. The floating-point data types and calling sequences were sufficiently different that you really had to compile for the floating-point model you were using. It was no different for other languages, you had to choose an implementation that your machine supported, and it would run much slower than it had to if you choose the wrong version. (Extremely slowly if you generated 68881 calls on a machine that didn't have a math chip.) > Its an issue that can safely be put to bed now, but the lesson ought to > be out there for future similar circumstances. Not everybody's political > needs are the same, so there need to be compromises. Agreed, but don't lose the flip side. I am not sure if a simple database interface will make it into the standard this time around. In Ada 9X it would have been a serious mistake to include one. This time it may be a mistake not to include one, but we could still goof by choosing the wrong one. This is one of the reasons I am participating in this discussion. I would much rather get the key issues for database interfaces right for Ada 200X, and allow multiple implementations of the actual database interfaces. -- Robert I. Eachus "Quality is the Buddha. Quality is scientific reality. Quality is the goal of Art. It remains to work these concepts into a practical, down-to-earth context, and for this there is nothing more practical or down-to-earth than what I have been talking about all along...the repair of an old motorcycle." -- from Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig