Re: Ranges and (non)static constraints

[Stephen Leake <stephen_leake@stephe-leake.org>]

Jean-Pierre Rosen <rosen@adalog.fr> writes:

> Dmitry A. Kazakov a �crit :
>> Actually it is not the machine which cannot, but the compiler. Why should I
>> care if an integer would fit a machine word?
> In theory you are right, but in practic you may assume that compiler
> writers are not crazy and want to provide a product that's useful to
> their clients. Although nothing really requires it in the RM, it is
> safe to assume that System.Max_Int is the biggest integer value that
> can be handled by the machine, and that Standard.Integer is the usual,
> efficient integer type.

This is specifically not true for GNAT; all GNAT compilers handle 64
bit integers, regardless of target.

I believe the philosophy is that portability is more important than
performance; if you need better performance, then either pick a better
target processor, or spend more time optimizing the code.


-- 
-- Stephe