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=-0.4 required=5.0 tests=AC_FROM_MANY_DOTS,BAYES_00 autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,4751d44ff54a2c2c X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2002-08-01 00:37:16 PST Path: archiver1.google.com!news1.google.com!newsfeed.stanford.edu!logbridge.uoregon.edu!newsfeed.icl.net!newsfeed.fjserv.net!colt.net!news-x2.support.nl!psinet-eu-nl!psiuk-p4!uknet!psiuk-p3!uknet!psiuk-n!news.pace.co.uk!nh.pace.co.uk!not-for-mail From: "Marin David Condic" Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Re: 64-bit integers in Ada Date: Wed, 31 Jul 2002 09:42:01 -0400 Organization: Posted on a server owned by Pace Micro Technology plc Message-ID: References: <3CE3978F.6070704@gmx.spam.egg.sausage.and.spam.net> <3D46DC69.7C291297@adaworks.com> <5ee5b646.0207301613.5b59616c@posting.google.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: dhcp-200-133.miami.pace.co.uk X-Trace: nh.pace.co.uk 1028122921 15961 136.170.200.133 (31 Jul 2002 13:42:01 GMT) X-Complaints-To: newsmaster@news.cam.pace.co.uk NNTP-Posting-Date: 31 Jul 2002 13:42:01 GMT X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.50.4522.1200 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.50.4522.1200 Xref: archiver1.google.com comp.lang.ada:27554 Date: 2002-07-31T13:42:01+00:00 List-Id: One advantage to insisting that the type Integer supports at least 16 bits is that it gives the developer some minimal parameters on which to write software that might rely on the standard type Integer. If you won't guarantee that the type Integer has some minimal usefulness, then why bother to have it at all? Most hardware will support 16 bits and even if it doesn't you might find it difficult to write any useful programs if you can't count up to at least 32767, so a software simulation is probably necessary. Is there a case where, for example, it would make any sense at all for an implementation to *not* give the user 16 bits? Would it ever make sense for the type Integer to be 8 bits, for example? (Assuming that if I actually want an 8-bit integer type I can still declare one of my own, that is...) Would anyone ever really want to build an Ada implementation that had a maximum integer of something less than 16 bits? If not, then the ARM specifying support for at least 16 bits is a good thing in terms of giving the developer a warm fuzzy feeling that he can depend on at least that much. For what its worth, IIRC, the XD-Ada compiler for the Mil-Std-1750a had 16 bits for the standard type Integer. I don't remember if it allowed declarations of integers larger than this, but my vague memory was that it did not. Given the machine architecture and the intended usage, it would not have been an unreasonable restriction. MDC -- Marin David Condic Senior Software Engineer Pace Micro Technology Americas www.pacemicro.com Enabling the digital revolution e-Mail: marin.condic@pacemicro.com "Robert A Duff" wrote in message news:wcc65ywhw3s.fsf@shell01.TheWorld.com... > > Actually, Ada requires 16 bit integers (at minimum). > Robert has argued in the past that this is silly -- too small to be of > use, and better to let the market decide. Probably true. >