Specific Machine Instructions in GNAT

Specific Machine Instructions in GNAT

[busigin]

In "Ada as a Second Language", by Norman H. Cohen, section 19.7.3,
a mechanism is described for generating short sequences of specific
machine instructions. I can't seem to find this capability in GNAT.
Does GNAT have such a capability? If not, are there plans to add this
capability later?

Anthony Busigin
NITEK Corporation

Re: Specific Machine Instructions in GNAT

[Robert Dewar]

Anthony says

"In "Ada as a Second Language", by Norman H. Cohen, section 19.7.3,
a mechanism is described for generating short sequences of specific
machine instructions. I can't seem to find this capability in GNAT.
Does GNAT have such a capability? If not, are there plans to add this
capability later?"


GNAT does not have this capability, but it will be added in the very near
future, we just did most of the work for this feature, and it may make
it into the next release, or otherwise in the one immediately after.

We will allow both machine instruction instrinsic subprograms, and code
statements. Both symbolic and absolute register names can be used, as
well as class designators for classes of registers. Full integration
with references to Ada expressions and variables is provided. The
resulting routines mey be inlined.

The feature is modeled on what is available in GNU C, see he GNU C manual
for full details.