Re: "new" word

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

"fabio de francesco" <fmdf@tiscali.it> wrote in message
news:1110966980.482176.111570@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
> Ciao,
>
> While reading "the big online book of Linux Ada programming", by Ken O.
> Burtch, I stopped at the following assertion
> (http://www.pegasoft.ca/resources/boblap/13.html):
>
> "Usually you allocate memory with the Ada new statement. Where does new
> get its memory? It uses the standard C library's malloc function."
>
> Does really Ada use Libc to implement "new"? Is it true?

"Ada" doesn't do anything. "Ada implementations" do whatever makes sense on
their target system.

On Windows, for instance, Janus/Ada uses the Windows heap manager to
allocate memory. (Presumably, malloc uses the same manager, but I don't know
that for sure.) We could write our own heap manager, but what would be the
point? The OS is already providing the services.

It does make sense on some targets to use malloc, because most
implementations want to be as compatible as possible with C (so interfacing
to C works well). But in any case it's up to the implementer. They can do
whatever makes the most sense for their target.

                  Randy.