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From: rosen@meduse.enst.fr (Jean Pierre Rosen)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada
Subject: Re: integer'image
Summary: 'IMAGE or PUT?
Message-ID: <52@meduse.enst.fr>
Date: 19 Jan 91 10:51:15 GMT
References: <2563@sparko.gwu.edu>
Organization: Telecom-Paris, Paris France
List-Id: <comp.lang.ada>


Answer to your concern is simple: 'IMAGE is not intended for output.
As you point out, PUT is very convenient, EVEN for converting integers
to strings, thanks to the nice PUT to string.
Using 'IMAGE has other drawbacks: if you have a bounded line length,
PUT(INTEGER'IMAGE(X)) will split the number in two accross line boundary,
making it impossible to read later on, while PUT(X) will issue a
new-line correctly.
What is the advantage of using 'IMAGE? it "saves" one instantiation.
I don't see any advantage in "saving" that kind of instantiations. It
is just a bad trick that people use to often.

To summerize: if you want to drive a screw with a hammer, don't complain
the hammer's head is too large: use the right tool.