Re: 'Image for composite types

[Stephen Leake <stephen_leake@stephe-leake.org>]

Martin <martin.dowie@btopenworld.com> writes:

> Is it just me that gets fed up with the lack of 'Image on composite
> types?
>
> I'm thinking in particular of when I'm testing / debugging and usually
> end up writing lots of 'Put_Line' code for each and every record. And
> then having to maintain them.

That's what Auto_Text_IO is for
http://www.stephe-leake.org/ada/auto_text_io.html 

> It got me thinking that the language could be expanded to include some
> helper attributes for easily composing a function that could return a
> String a la 'Image for scalar types.

I should think the compiler could just compose 'Image for each
component.

That won't work for access types, or task types (and probably others);
there would have to be a way to provide user functions for those; a
defineable 'Image attribute would be good, as you propose.

-- 
-- Stephe