Re: Ada array vs C pointer (call by reference)

[Adam Beneschan <adam@irvine.com>]

On Jun 27, 6:15 pm, Adrian Hoe <aby...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Like those previous posts in this thread (by Maciej, Keith, et al), it
> depends on compiler implementation. The question is, the C library
> (which I am interfacing with) is compiled by unknown C compiler with
> unknown switches and the author cannot be contacted. The only
> documentation I have is the C header file.

Got a good disassembler?

If it really isn't documented what type of floats it's expecting, and
you have no way to determine what C compiler was being used, you're
pretty much down to looking at the disassembled code to figure out how
it works, or just trying different possibilities with small data
samples where you know what the correct result will be, and trying it
with different float sizes until you get the right result.  I don't
know what sort of different answer you were expecting.  Ada is a
programming language, not a magician.  Nobody here is suggesting that
in a case like this, that the Ada compiler should be able to figure
out how to interface to your library; and if you think they were,
you're overinterpreting.

Furthermore, even if there were some configuration information in the
library itself (such as debug information in a symbol table or DWARF
section) that gives information on the expected parameters, there is
certainly no language requirement that the Ada compiler go delve into
the library file to figure this out, and I doubt that any Ada compiler
would actually do so.  You're on your own, there.

                             -- Adam