Re: Specialization

[Toshitaka Kumano <kumano@cl.cilas.net>]

Hi,

Baugereau wrote:
> I'm trying to implement a generic container, say a extensible vector.
> But I'd like to specialize this component for controlled types.
> For instance, when I empty the container, I want to Finalize all the
> elements if they are Controlled, and do nothing if not.

Roughly speaking, Finalize for Controlled is equivalent to
"destructor" in C++, and usually it is called automatically
and implicitly when the object cease to live.

In usual usage when Finalize is called, you lose the container itself,
not only the elements :-)

So your statement "when I empty the container" is very strange to me
 because you seem to invoke explicitly...

> Is there a way, like in C++ (I come from a C++ background, maybe my view is
> too much "C++ template"-biased), to specialize the procedures of the package
> for some flavours of the generic parameter?

Guess from "template", you need not dynamic dispatching (virtual in C++).

Then my guess answer is:

  - use derived type simply (say C and Derived_C) 
    (not tagged, probably limited private)

  - implement different versions of "Empty" for two types
    (one for C does nothing (?), another for  Derived_C removes elements) 

Although I don't have much experience in C++ and could not give much help,
why don't you show your idea in some piece of code in C++ ?
Then you could get hints from some gurus who have experience both on C++
and on Ada.

--
Toshitaka Kumano
Kamakura
Japan