Re: Shared Generic Instance Code

[fjh@mundook.cs.mu.OZ.AU (Fergus Henderson)]

dewar@merv.cs.nyu.edu (Robert Dewar) writes:

>Shared code would add a LOT of complexity. Consider for example a generic
>formal type "digits <>". Now this code must handle all possible lengths
>of floating-point. 
>
>This is easy if you have only one length (that's what the Rational compiler
>used to do), or if you do everything in the longest type, and don't worry
>too much that you are cheating on operatoins like Unchecked_Conversion
>(that's what RR used to do),

Could you be a bit more specific about what you mean by "cheating
on operations like Unchecked_Conversion"?  In what sense did RR "cheat"?

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