RE: Binding a type to a union.

["Robert C. Leif, Ph.D." <rleif@rleif.com>]

From : Bob Leif
To: Robert Dewar et al.

I am gratified that "the extended Ada language technology agreed on by the
ARA technical committee, and has since been discussed by the ARG
as a possible semi-standard extension."

Finally, Ada has some flexibility and adaptability! I hope that 1) the ARA
and ARG can define a process for extending Ada and a better term than "a
possible semi-standard extension." 2) That these semi-standard extensions
keep being created as required with or without a formal process. and 3) An
informal process, at least initially, be set up where we the users can make
suggestions for these "semi-standard extensions."

I like the term provisional extensions. You can even follow the present
commercial software terminology. We could have alpha and beta levels. When
an extension is accepted by ISO, it becomes gold.

-----Original Message-----
From: Robert Dewar [mailto:robert_dewar@my-deja.com]
Sent: Wednesday, November 24, 1999 9:21 PM
To: comp.lang.ada@ada.eu.org
Subject: Re: Binding a type to a union.


In article <81gtd5$rfb$1@nnrp1.deja.com>,
  Ted Dennison <dennison@telepath.com> wrote:
> Perhaps that's because compilers ignore pragmas they don't
recognize.
> Just for fun, try putting a "pragma Foo_Bar;" in one of your
source
> files and compile it with Gnat. The worst you'll see is a:
>    warning: unrecognized pragma "Foo_Bar --
> T.E.D.

Well I assume this is a joke, but I did not see a smiley. Of
COURSE it is the case that if you use Unchecked_Union to
interface to a C union, and it was not implemented, then your
program wouldn't work.

And if indeed the above was intended to be serious, then please
note that a small amount of research would have shown you that
most Ada 95 compilers implement this pragma. It was one of the
first bits of extended Ada language technology agreed on by the
ARA technical committee, and has since been discussed by the ARG
as a possible semi-standard extension.


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