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 autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,bc1361a952ec75ca X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2001-08-15 13:12:04 PST Path: archiver1.google.com!newsfeed.google.com!newsfeed.stanford.edu!newsfeeds.belnet.be!news.belnet.be!psinet-eu-nl!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: Ada and pointers Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2001 15:53:36 -0400 Organization: Posted on a server owned by Pace Micro Technology plc Message-ID: <9lek02$i88$1@nh.pace.co.uk> References: <1ope7.5943$6R6.582900@news1.cableinet.net> <9ldto7$9pg$1@nh.pace.co.uk> NNTP-Posting-Host: dhcp-200-133.miami.pace.co.uk X-Trace: nh.pace.co.uk 997905218 18696 136.170.200.133 (15 Aug 2001 19:53:38 GMT) X-Complaints-To: newsmaster@news.cam.pace.co.uk NNTP-Posting-Date: 15 Aug 2001 19:53:38 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: archiver1.google.com comp.lang.ada:11963 Date: 2001-08-15T19:53:38+00:00 List-Id: I suppose that my logical explanation doesn't necessarily cover the same territory as mathematical proof. Obviously not all algorithms have bounded memory use - try to compute Pi to the last digit - you'll run out of memory before you get there. I'm not sure if thats what you mean. >From just a logical perspective: All computers in the known universe have a finite quantity of memory. Hence all dynamic allocation, on all known, real world computers is a fiction built on top of a static allocation that is determined at computer-build time. So I'd suggest that it stands to reason that if you have a dynamic algorithm that actually runs and computes a solution on some real world computer, then there must be a static allocation solution that will run on that same computer. Now maybe we should spend some time figuring out how to trisect an angle? It beats chasing down C program bugs which is what I have on the agenda for this afternoon... :-) 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/ "Hambut" wrote in message news:fb75c450.0108151054.74fdfc5@posting.google.com... > > Well the statement that pointers can be mimic-ed through other > mechanisms is certainly true enough, and I agree with your other > points but........ > > I was thinking about the dynamic allocation aspects - if you can't or > don't want to bound the memory used then it becomes difficult to see > how you could work without dynamic memory allocation (which is, > admittedly, not precisely related to pointers - but they provide a > popular way of getting access to dynamically allocated memory). > > Of course this is all fairly non-specific, but in terms of a formal > mathematical proof - well (and here's a leap into the unknown coupled > with thinking aloud, so feel free to flame the rest of this...) > wouldn't this mean that you'd somehow have to prove that all > algorithms had bounded memory use? This seems a hard thing to do (and > I'm not precisely sure this would completely prove that pointers can > be disregarded - for example what about alias-ing capabilities?) > > That said I agree that in a practical sense you can probably do > without pointers, albeit with some effort and discomfort. >