Re: Array Help?

["Randy Brukardt" <randy@rrsoftware.com>]

<stefan-lucks@see-the.signature> wrote in message 
news:Pine.LNX.4.64.1203090923440.19986@medsec1.medien.uni-weimar.de...
> On Thu, 8 Mar 2012, Randy Brukardt wrote:
...
> Sorry for using anonymous arrays. I hardly ever do this in real
> code. Please change the above code to
>
>  generic
>     type Element_Type is (<>);
>     type Collection_Type is array(generic Positive range <>) of 
> Element_Type;
>     with function "<"(Left, Right : Element_Type) return Boolean is <>;
>  function Sort(Items : Collection_Type) return Collection_Type;
>
> The issue is the same:
>
>> > Sort(X) should be callable if the index type of X is any discrete type,
>> > except when the index type is too large (i.e., X has more than
>> > Positive'Last elements).

Which as I said doesn't make sense: Positive is numeric; if you want any 
discrete type for the index you have to say so:

 generic
     type Element_Type is (<>); -- Really ought to be "is private".
     type Index_Type is (<>);
     type Collection_Type is array(Index_Type range <>) of Element_Type;
     with function "<"(Left, Right : Element_Type) return Boolean is <>;
 function Sort(Items : Collection_Type) return Collection_Type;

This works now (and has since Ada 83!), so I fail to see exactly what your 
proposal gains (other than a bit less typing, and Ada have never been about 
saving typing).

                                 Randy.