Re: Ragged Array Proposal

[Ray Blaak <blaak@infomatch.com>]

Ted Dennison <dennison@telepath.com> writes:
> Also for your example you say "the various ways of doing the equivalent
> thing in Ada 95 are all unappealing." I but I can do the equivalent
> thing in Ada 95 in only 2 more lines of code:
> 
>    type Command_String_Ptr is access all String;
>    for Command_String_Ptr'Storage_Size use 1024;
> 
>    type Command is (Cut, Copy, Paste, ...);
> 
>    Labels: constant array (Command) of Command_String_Ptr :=
>       (Cut      => new String'("Cu&t"),
>        Copy     => new String'("&Copy"),
> 
>        Paste    => new String'("&Paste"),
>        ...);

The problem with this approach is that the data is duplicated. It is both in
the static data area of the program (i.e. the string constants), and in the
heap.

In Ada95, to avoid duplicating the data, the approach is tedious (i.e. having
an aliased constant for each string, and assigning their 'Access values into
the array).

-- 
Cheers,                                        The Rhythm is around me,
                                               The Rhythm has control.
Ray Blaak                                      The Rhythm is inside me,
blaak@infomatch.com                            The Rhythm has my soul.