Re: Interfacing to C and long long data type

["Dmitry A. Kazakov" <mailbox@dmitry-kazakov.de>]

On Fri, 27 Jun 2008 11:53:25 -0700 (PDT), Adam Beneschan wrote:

> On Jun 27, 9:11 am, "Dmitry A. Kazakov" <mail...@dmitry-kazakov.de>
> wrote:

>> On Thu, 26 Jun 2008 04:59:01 -0700 (PDT), Maciej Sobczak wrote:
>>> On 26 Cze, 10:53, S�bastien Morand <seb.mor...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>>> Anyway when you interface Ada with C, you are loosing the portability of
>>>> your program
>>
>>> If I need some functionality, then non-portable program that has this
>>> functionality is infinitely better than a portable program that does
>>> not.
>>
>> Why infinitely? Having any functionality X can have only a finite value.
>> Similarly the value of having no X is also finite. [Assuming some additive
>> model of values.]
> 
> I think the idea here is that the value of a portable program that
> does not have the functionality you need is 0.0, and so even though
> the functionality of the non-portable value is finite, when you divide
> to get a ratio you will get an infinite answer.

This would be a multiplicative model then. It does not look any realistic.
People tend to exaggerate their expectations and requirements. Being
confronted a real choice, they behave differently from what they think or
say about it.

No feature can remove all value of a program if missing. In an additive
model of values it would mean that the feature is implied by *all*
features, existing or just possible. I doubt that any C library could ever
provide anything close to that...

> Well, actually,
> you'll get Constraint_Error but that's just a nitpick......

It won't compile, "/" is not defined on that type... (:-))

--
Regards,
Dmitry A. Kazakov
http://www.dmitry-kazakov.de