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From: "Dmitry A. Kazakov" <mailbox@dmitry-kazakov.de>
Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada
Subject: Re: 'Size of an object
Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2012 18:27:58 +0200
Organization: cbb software GmbH
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Date: 2012-09-11T18:27:58+02:00
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On Tue, 11 Sep 2012 08:52:03 -0700 (PDT), Adam Beneschan wrote:

> What would you expect E'Size to be, and why?  In a larger procedure,
> what might you use 'Size on a local variable for; if you wouldn't ever
> use it on a local variable, then what kinds of *objects* (not types or
> subtypes) might you apply 'Size to, and what would you do with the value?

Does the question has an answer? What is the object size when stored in a
register? Do temp copies count, e.g. when passed by copy, loaded into a
cache? Does the memory allocated upon unpacking packed representations
count?

I think that at best, one could say that the object size is an interval
with the upper and lower bound reachable. This interval could used to
estimate container type sizes, though the obtained bounds might turn become
unreachable.

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