Re: Elaboration order

[dewar@cs.nyu.edu (Robert Dewar)]

Mike says

"As an aside to the RM discussion of this thread, how do I know
that Ada compiler X will generate the correct (as defined in
the RM) elaboration order?

I know that ACVC tests do not guarantee correct code generation.
Is the ACVC suite more complete when it comes to elaboration? Is
there a standard benchmark used by compiler vendors? Or, for safety
critical functions, should I verify this for every application
build?"

Of course the ACVC suite does not guarantee that a compiler gets the
order of elaboration correct in every case. Your question seems to
imply that you expected the ACVC suite to guarantee correct code
generatoin and that the reason that it does not is that it is not
complete. This is a serious misconception. No test suite can ever
guarantee that a compiler has no errors -- indeed, except for very
trivial programs, no set of tests ever guarantees accuracy.

For safety critical applications, you cannot trust ANY aspect of a compiler
or any other tool that you use, and you need to carefully verify EVERYTHING
about your program -- at least, put it this way, if you write the code for
a plane that I will fly on, I will expect this!

Are there ACVC tests to test order of elaboration? Sure!
Do they help ensure that compilers are correct in this respect? Sure!
Do they guarantee that compilers are correct in this respect? NO!