Re: array of strings in a function

[Jeffrey Carter <spam@spam.com>]

tmoran@acm.org wrote:

>>You can't have a subprogram with an unknown number of parameters, which
>>is what you've been trying to write.
> 
>   But you can certainly have a set of subprograms with the same name
> but differing number of parameters:
>   procedure my_fun(s1 : in string) is ...
>   procedure my_fun(s1,s2 : in string) is ...
>   procedure my_fun(s1,s2,s3 : in string) is ...
>   procedure my_fun(s1,s2,s3,s4 : in string) is ...
> or you could use default values
>   procedure my_fun(s1 : string;        -- require at least one parameter
>                    s2 : string := "";
>                    s3 : string := "";
>                    s4 : string := "") is ..

Certainly. But to handle an arbitrary number of parameters, you have to 
write an arbitrary number of something (subprograms or parameters with 
defaults), which is impossible. An unconstrained array type allows you 
to handle an unbounded number of items with a single parameter 
(unbounded in the same sense as Unbounded_String).

-- 
Jeff Carter
"Perfidious English mouse-dropping hoarders."
Monty Python & the Holy Grail
10