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=-1.3 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,INVALID_MSGID
	autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4
X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit
X-Google-Thread: 103376,965fbd9798ca1677
X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public
From: Brian Rogoff <bpr@shell5.ba.best.com>
Subject: Re: Return by reference
Date: 1999/11/06
Message-ID: <Pine.BSF.4.10.9911062253480.12126-100000@shell5.ba.best.com>#1/1
X-Deja-AN: 545452293
References: <Pine.BSF.4.10.9911011705320.5772-100000@shell5.ba.best.com>
 <wccg0yoyff3.fsf@world.std.com>
 <Pine.BSF.4.10.9911021905050.1386-100000@shell5.ba.best.com>
 <slrn820g0f.l7.lutz@taranis.iks-jena.de>
 <Pine.BSF.4.10.9911032055450.14434-100000@shell5.ba.best.com>
 <slrn8236e7.sd.lutz@taranis.iks-jena.de>
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
X-Trace: nntp1.ba.best.com 941957807 206 bpr@206.184.139.136
MIME-Version: 1.0
Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada
Date: 1999-11-06T00:00:00+00:00
List-Id: <comp.lang.ada>

On 4 Nov 1999, Lutz Donnerhacke wrote:
> * Brian Rogoff wrote:
> >Thanks for the code, but I already know how to do this with a type whose 
> >public view is limited and its private view, not limited. I was wondering
> >if I can do this entirely with minimal potential copying.
> 
> Of course it is possible. The idea is to deal with a pointer to a dynamic
> array only. The Format function allocates and the To_String function
> releases the memory.

But then you have to heap allocate. That seems rather heavy. I think
Matthew Heaney's suggestion is the most promising for reducing copying,
but it appears too "naughty" to me. I'll just live with the copying.

--Brian