Re: Possible to recover default value of scalar type?

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

"AdaMagica" <christ-usch.grein@t-online.de> wrote in message 
news:82e629ea-bd59-417a-9185-dd6094e396c1n@googlegroups.com...
>I do not really understand the problem. It seems you want to be able to 
>access the default value like so:
> N: Natural := Natural(A_Type'Default_Value);
> This is not possible. Thre is no corresponding attribute 'Default_Value.
> If this presents a real problem, submit it to Ada comment stating why this 
> is important.

We considered an attribute like that, but it becomes a semantic problem if 
the type doesn't have a Default_Value and you are in a context where you 
don't know (such as for a generic formal type). I vaguely remember some 
other semantic problem, but I don't remember the details. These things could 
be worked out, but it seemed messy.

I've long wanted <> to work as it does in aggregates generally (if that 
existed, I'd also have a restriction to require all objects to be 
initialized; that would provide an encouragement to initialize as many 
objects as possible; right now, the iffy thing (not initializing) is the 
easiest).

                              Randy.