Re: An Example for Ada.Execution_Time

[BrianG <briang000@gmail.com>]

Randy Brukardt wrote:
> "BrianG" <briang000@gmail.com> wrote in message 
> news:ifbi5c$rqt$1@news.eternal-september.org...
> ...
>>    >Neither Execution_Time or Execution_Time.Timers provides any value
>>    >that can be used directly.
> 
> This seems like a totally silly question. 
> 
> Giving this some sort of religious importance is beyond 
> silly...
> 
>                                    Randy.


Apparently, asking how a package, defined in the standard, was intended 
to be used is now a silly question, and asking for an answer to the 
question I originally asked (which was to clarify a previous response, 
not to provide an example of use) is a religious debate.  I need to 
revise my definitions.

I won't claim to be an expert on the RM, but I don't recall any other 
package (I did look at the ones you mention) that define a private type 
but don't provide operations that make that type useful (for some 
definition of 'use').  Ada.Directories doesn't require Ada.IO_Exceptions 
to use Directory_Entry_Type or Search_Type; Ada.Streams.Stream_IO 
doesn't require Ada.Streams (or Ada.Text_IO) to Create/Open/Read/etc. a 
File_Type.  The only thing provided from a CPU_Time is a count in 
seconds, or another private type.

Since D.16 defines CPU_Time as if it were a numeric value, is it too 
much to ask why a conversion to some form of numeric value wasn't 
provided?  Perhaps either a "-" or To_Duration  (and before anyone 
mentions duplicating the existing function, look at all of the 
Open/Close/Create/etc. for all the *_IO File_Types)?  I wasn't asking 
for anything to be changed, merely "why" - because I originally thought 
there might be some use that I hadn't foreseen.  Apparently not.

(Give the RM definition, making it a child of Real_Time might make it 
seem more logical, I guess, but since CPU_Time is not really a time, and 
is not related to "real time" that doesn't seem to make any sense.  I 
would think that would be all the more reason not to relate it to 
Ada.Real_Time.)

--BrianG

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