BASIC_NUM_IO??

BASIC_NUM_IO??

[Jamie]

Hi,

I'm a complete newbie to Ada and am currently working my way through the
book 'Ada 95 from the beginning' by Jan Skansholm (the selected text for my
University).

However there are several references to a package called BASIC_NUM_IO which
I do not have (I am running GNAT under Win 95). I know that this package is
a combination of two others in order to facilitate reading and writing of
numbers at the console (I think?).

I can currently get around the problem but would like to know why this
package is not included when the author of the book states that all Ada 95
source was compiled using GNAT. Is my version missing something?

Any comments on the validity of the book that I am using to learn Ada would
also be appreciated.

Cheers,

Jamie.

j.couston@virgin.net

Re: BASIC_NUM_IO??

[David C. Hoos, Sr.]

Jamie wrote in message <01bda9d6$ab2b9ea0$0c40a8c2@j.couston>...
>Hi,
>
>I'm a complete newbie to Ada and am currently working my way through the
>book 'Ada 95 from the beginning' by Jan Skansholm (the selected text for my
>University).
>

Although you didn't state an edition number, I assume it's the Third
Edition.

>However there are several references to a package called BASIC_NUM_IO which
>I do not have (I am running GNAT under Win 95). I know that this package is
>a combination of two others in order to facilitate reading and writing of
>numbers at the console (I think?).
>

Does your book have an index?  Did you look up BASIC_NUM_IO in the index?
The Third Edition has an entry pointing to pages 26, and 627.
Page 627 begins Appendix B which contains the source code for BASIC_NUM_IO.

>I can currently get around the problem but would like to know why this
>package is not included when the author of the book states that all Ada 95
>source was compiled using GNAT. Is my version missing something?
>

Perhaps it's missing a reader who has learned to use an index.

>Any comments on the validity of the book that I am using to learn Ada would
>also be appreciated.
>
No Ada95 book is without its faults, and some are much better than others,
but
this one will certainly do for a start.
Page 578 has an error, in that source code for a package which should be
named
PERSON_PACKAGE.EMPL is misnamed EMPLOYEE_PACKAGE.EMPL.

Re: BASIC_NUM_IO??

[Dale Stanbrough]

Jamie, j.couston@virgin.net writes:

"I'm a complete newbie to Ada and am currently working my way through the
 book 'Ada 95 from the beginning' by Jan Skansholm (the selected text for
my
 University).
 
 However there are several references to a package called BASIC_NUM_IO
which
 I do not have (I am running GNAT under Win 95). I know that this package
is
 a combination of two others in order to facilitate reading and writing of
 numbers at the console (I think?)."


The package is listed in the back of the book. It's only 20 or so lines,
so it's pretty easy to type in.

Alternatively you can replace 

	with basic_num_io; use basic_num_io;
	
with

	with ada.text_io; use ada.text_io;
	with ada.integer_text_io; use ada.integer_text_io;
	with ada.float_text_io;   use ada.float_text_io;

and the programs should still run just fine.

Dale