Re: Enum'Image (Was: Improving Ada's image)

[Kilgallen@SpamCop.net (Larry Kilgallen)]

In article <pld63o5w7p.fsf@sparre.crs4.it>, Jacob Sparre Andersen <sparre@nbi.dk> writes:
> Adrian Wrigley wrote:
>> Randy Brukardt wrote:
> 
>> > In any case, Text_IO.Enumeration_IO does let you set the case of
>> > the output. (It could use a Mixed_Case option, though). Remember
>> > that 'image is for Q&D output, not the fancy stuff (something we
>> > all forget often).
> 
> It took a moment to decode "Q&D" as "quick and dirty".

Yes, please do not write "C" in the Ada newsgroup :-)

>> Here's a few enumerations that really need verbatim output of case:
>> Ada, COBOL, Pascal, PostScript - languages

And here is one that will not be helped by the proposal

	Visual Basic

At that point one will still have to go back to the old

	function Printable ( Language : Language_Type ) return String is
	begin
		case Language of

		when Ada =>
			return "Ada";

		when COBOL =>
			return "COBOL";

		when Pascal =>
			return "Pascal";

		when PostScript =>
			return "PostScript";

		when Visual_Basic =>
			return "Visual Basic";
		end;

One advantage of Ada is the degree to which it helps the maintaining
programmer avoid an error.  The programmer charged with adding "Visual
Basic" to the list would have to re-invent the wheel if the original
programmer presumed that 'image would work for all future languages.