Re: Attributes 'Version and 'Body_Version

[dewar@gnat.com (Robert Dewar)]

"Nick Roberts" <nickroberts@adaos.worldonline.co.uk> wrote in message news:<9tsd63$4jjng$1@ID-25716.news.dfncis.de>...
> "Robert Dewar" <dewar@gnat.com> wrote in message
> news:5ee5b646.0111251830.61aaa6be@posting.google.com...
> I know what the original idea was for the attributes.

OK, one would not have guessed this from some earlier
messages. Certainly others in this thread have been
very confused (indeed the entire thread was started
by such a confusion).

> But just because they were originally intended for a 
> certain purpose,
> doesn't mean they cannot be used for another purpose (in 
> addition), does it?

It should if you are following good language design
principles. There is no point in using the same attribute
name for two different purposes.

Also, extending the meaning of 'Version would be a language
extension that would create a non-conforming variant of
Ada. That means no one is going to do it without very
general consensus, which you simply won't get going in
this direction.

If you choose a different attribute name, then you are no
longer talking about a language extension, and it is much
easier to get someone to implement it if they agree it has
some merit.

> Far be it from me to wish to perpetuate any confusion, 
> but often confusion is a problem cured by good 
> documentation, and doesn't necessarily require
> new attributes.

You can cure someones confusion with documentation if the
confusion arises from misunderstanding. If the confusion
stems from confused language design, such as in this case
suggesting the use of 'Version to mean two rather unrelated
things, then documentation won't be enough.