From: robert_dewar@my-dejanews.com
Subject: Re: Getting GNAT to issue ARM error messages
Date: 1999/02/14
Date: 1999-02-14T00:00:00+00:00 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <7a5b71$d25$1@nnrp1.dejanews.com> (raw)
In-Reply-To: 7a490k$snr$1@plug.news.pipex.net
In article <7a490k$snr$1@plug.news.pipex.net>,
"Nick Roberts" <Nick.Roberts@dial.pipex.com> wrote:
> It seems to me that Robert Dewar's argument is false,
> really. He seems to be arguing, in essence, that "because
> it will help very few users, GNAT should not issue
> references (to the RM95)". But, surely, if the references
> would help any user at all (e.g. me), they should be
> included. How could they do any harm?
First of all, most *certainly* useless RM references have
the potential for harm. They can send people off on wild
goose chases trying to read (to them) incomprehensible
stuff in the RM which just adds confusion to lack of
understanding.
Once again, the GNAT philosophy is to include the RM
reference if and only if it is significantly helpful to
the majority of users.
We do not find many such examples!
The argument that extra information should be supplied in
an error message even if it is only useful to a very small
number of users is dubious. It would for example equally
well justify routinely adding a Russian translation of the
message, along with a dubious RM reference.
Once again, how about a specific example where an RM
reference would help general users.
Nick, you are writing an Ada compiler, that means you know
the RM backwards and forwards and completely (or you don't
have a chance), so you are definitely NOT the kind of
person to whom the error messages are targetted (indeed I
would think anyone knowing the RM that well would not in
any case need RM references :-)
Robert Dewar
Ada Core Technologis
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next prev parent reply other threads:[~1999-02-14 0:00 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 35+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
1999-02-08 0:00 Getting GNAT to issue ARM error messages David Peterson
1999-02-09 0:00 ` robert_dewar
1999-02-10 0:00 ` David Peterson
1999-02-10 0:00 ` Larry Kilgallen
1999-02-12 0:00 ` dewar
1999-02-12 0:00 ` Tucker Taft
1999-02-13 0:00 ` Nick Roberts
1999-02-13 0:00 ` bill
1999-02-14 0:00 ` robert_dewar [this message]
1999-02-14 0:00 ` Nick Roberts
1999-02-15 0:00 ` Jerry van Dijk
1999-02-16 0:00 ` dennison
1999-02-18 0:00 ` Alexy V Khrabrov
1999-02-15 0:00 ` dewar
1999-02-15 0:00 ` Ehud Lamm
1999-02-16 0:00 ` steve quinlan
1999-02-17 0:00 ` Pascal Obry
1999-02-17 0:00 ` Steve Whalen
1999-02-17 0:00 ` Jean-Pierre Rosen
1999-02-18 0:00 ` robert_dewar
1999-02-18 0:00 ` Keith Thompson
1999-02-18 0:00 ` dennison
1999-02-23 0:00 ` Chris Morgan
1999-02-18 0:00 ` robert_dewar
1999-02-18 0:00 ` David Brown
1999-02-17 0:00 ` dewar
1999-02-17 0:00 ` steve quinlan
1999-02-18 0:00 ` robert_dewar
1999-02-19 0:00 ` Simon Wright
1999-02-14 0:00 ` robert_dewar
1999-02-10 0:00 ` dewar
1999-02-10 0:00 ` Tom Moran
1999-04-20 0:00 ` Robert Dewar
1999-04-20 0:00 ` Ehud Lamm
1999-04-20 0:00 ` Robert Dewar
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