Delay guarantees

[fmanning@my-dejanews.com]

If you have a delay relative statement, does the delay argument
guarantee a minimum delay? For example:

   Delay 0.5;

Does this guarantee a minimum 500 ms delay?

According to the Ada 95 style guide at adaic, "The Ada language
definition only guarantees that the delay time is a minimum." The guide
also warns against depending on achieving a particular delay, but to
the extent that a delay is achievable, the implication seems to be that
a minimum is guaranteed.

But in the LRM, in section D.9 on Delay Accuracy, the only applicable
requirement I can find is in paragraph 3. To paraphrase -- if you read
the clock before and after a delay statement, the time difference must
be equal or greater than the delay argument.

Suppose the delay argument is equivalent to a single clock tick, and
the delay is executed just before a tick? Can delay return just after
the tick? If so, the actual time delay could be essentially 0.

-- Frank Manning
-- NetMedia, Inc.


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