From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-0.4 required=5.0 tests=AC_FROM_MANY_DOTS,BAYES_00, LOTS_OF_MONEY autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,6ea0a5c35bbeef5e X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2001-03-14 07:40:06 PST Path: supernews.google.com!sn-xit-03!supernews.com!nntp.cs.ubc.ca!news-spur1.maxwell.syr.edu!news.maxwell.syr.edu!isdnet!psinet-france!psiuk-f4!psiuk-p4!uknet!psiuk-n!news.pace.co.uk!nh.pace.co.uk!not-for-mail From: "Marin David Condic" Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Re: calander package Date: Wed, 14 Mar 2001 10:21:47 -0500 Organization: Posted on a server owned by Pace Micro Technology plc Message-ID: <98o2b5$46t$1@nh.pace.co.uk> References: <98ltmj$90q$1@nh.pace.co.uk> NNTP-Posting-Host: 136.170.200.133 X-Trace: nh.pace.co.uk 984583333 4317 136.170.200.133 (14 Mar 2001 15:22:13 GMT) X-Complaints-To: newsmaster@pace.co.uk NNTP-Posting-Date: 14 Mar 2001 15:22:13 GMT X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.50.4522.1200 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.50.4522.1200 Xref: supernews.google.com comp.lang.ada:5719 Date: 2001-03-14T15:22:13+00:00 List-Id: That ought to be a clue to the powers-that-be in the Language Design Business. If its something everyone ends up building - only with slight variations - then maybe having a standard, language supplied (or at least approved) version of it would be A Good Thing. Same argument went around about math functions in Ada83. The argument against having something like Ada.Numerics... was that a) it was easy enough for people to extend Ada with packages on their own, b) it wasn't needed for all systems everywhere, c) we've got more pressing problems to deal with like getting Tasking to work at some rational speed. What happened was that every compiler vendor ended up supplying their own Log and Trig functions in their own way & nobody could write math related code that could count on some sort of portable interface to the math routines. Granted, time as strings, etc, is not as common as math functions, but its still pretty common. What would be wrong with an appendix or some other means of specifying "If you are going to have a Time-As-Strings package, here's an agreed-upon spec to adhere to..."? And since this issue is bound to come up with other utility code, perhaps some thought could be given to a more general mechanism of adding utilities to Ada in a semi-standard way? That is to say, maybe defining a root package that can be extended with a utility environment that may or may not be supplied by a vendor or user group could be a useful way of organically growning de facto standard packages. If there was an agreed-upon Ada.Utilities.... as the root and a handful of agreed-upon specs as a starting point (Ada.Utilities.Timekeeping? Ada.Utilities.Whatever?) so that extensions could be supplied & used in a conventional way, it might encourage more development of this sort of thing. MDC -- Marin David Condic Senior Software Engineer Pace Micro Technology Americas www.pacemicro.com Enabling the digital revolution e-Mail: marin.condic@pacemicro.com Web: http://www.mcondic.com/ wrote in message news:pgzr6.29799$zV3.2243883@news1.frmt1.sfba.home.com... > It appears everyone has their own handy, but slightly different from > everyone else, package. :( > I'll offer package Claw.Time at www.rrsoftware.com