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Date: Wed, 04 Dec 2002 15:20:56 +0100
From: Ulrich Eckhardt <uli.e@gmx.de>
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Subject: Re: Ada Configuration API for Unix and Windows
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Date: 2002-12-04T15:20:56+01:00
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Stephen Leake wrote:
> Ulrich Eckhardt <uli.e@gmx.de> writes:
>>I have decided to introduce special types for sections and values,
>>so that the user can not accidentialy permute sections and keys or
>>other unbounded strings, specialy when variables are used (and not
>>simple string literals like in the example).
> 
> That seems to make sense at first, but just gets in the way in the
> long run. A string is a string. Named association is a better
> solution. 

You can use named associations, but you don't have to use them.
Also they do not prevent to use accidentialy a wrong variable.

Assume you have some sort of ugly code like

ak : Constant r_key := To_Key("A_Key");
as : Constant r_section := To_Section("A_Section");
..

Set_Section(reg,ak);
Put(reg,as,"A Value");

Named association may not help in this case, since the user
has accidentialy permutet the use of this variables. However,
since i have extra types, the compiler will find this error.

Of course, the above example is constructed, but sometimes you
may have some complicated data structures lists etc ...

Uli
-- 
Ulrich Eckhardt
http://www.uli-eckhardt.de