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From: bobduff@world.std.com (Robert A Duff)
Subject: Re: Program identification
Date: 1996/08/31
Message-ID: <Dx0n05.9KD@world.std.com>#1/1
X-Deja-AN: 177689660
references: <INFO-ADA%96082914161709@LISTSERV.NODAK.EDU>
 <Dx06u9.MJJ@world.std.com> <509s75$4ps@map.mda.ca>
organization: The World Public Access UNIX, Brookline, MA
newsgroups: comp.lang.ada
Date: 1996-08-31T00:00:00+00:00
List-Id: <comp.lang.ada>


In article <509s75$4ps@map.mda.ca>, Ray Blaak <blaak@mda.ca> wrote:
>bobduff@world.std.com (Robert A Duff) writes:
>
>>How is:
>>    P'Identity
>>different from:
>>    "P"
>
>P'Identity would be checked by the compiler. "P" is subject to typos, which
>then gives misleading information in reporting (which are not always due to
>exceptions, BTW. Consider tracing, debugging, etc.).

OK, I suppose that makes sense.  But to be useful, it seems like you
would want other stuff as well.  E.g., a way to get the caller of the
current procedure, and its caller, and so on, so you can print out all
those names.  And line numbers of the calls.  And names of all kinds of
things other than program units.  Shrug.  It seems like a lot of
information to keep around at run time, for a language like Ada.  People
already complain about the memory needed to store the tables for doing
enumeration type 'Image.

By the way, 'Identity is already used for a couple of other meanings.

- Bob