Re: Gnat Sockets & Streams

["Dmitry A. Kazakov" <mailbox@dmitry-kazakov.de>]

On Fri, 14 Sep 2012 21:01:00 -0500, Robert Love wrote:

> We don't see any way the
> 
>   String'Output(Channel, "Dummy Data");
> 
> can output the data one character at a time.

It could do this in any way and any combination of characters per
definition of stream. AdaCore changed the behavior of array stream
attributes, I heard. But, still, it is perfectly legal in any way.

Using streams and sockets you should remember:

1. Stream attributes are not portable. The only type you should read/write
into the socket stream is Unsigned_8 or equivalent (octet).

2. As with any I/O you should honestly implement all layers of the protocol
at hand. Don't try shortcuts like stream type attributes, representation
clauses etc.

3. Network protocols are packet-oriented. You have to use Write (of the
type Root_Stream_Type) instead of attributes to ensure that the packet is
sent as a whole. It matters for both UDP and TCP/IP.

> Is there any way a stream can be corrupted?

There is nothing corrupted in the described behavior.

> Any settings parameters I could compile with that change the behavior?

See above. 

-- 
Regards,
Dmitry A. Kazakov
http://www.dmitry-kazakov.de