Re: Ada needs some modernization

[Brad Moore <bj.mooremr@gmail.com>]

On Tuesday, May 31, 2022 at 10:54:47 AM UTC-7, Matt Borchers wrote:
> Throughout my career, I often find myself writing code similar to: 
> 
> if (A and B) or else (not A and C) then... 
> 
> and I always wished there was a better and clearer way to write this in Ada. Then along came if expressions. But, if expressions don't help that much with readablity although it is arguably simpler: 
> 
> if (if A then B else C) then... 
> 

I agree with the other comments, and in a case like this, I might consider writing an expression function to improve readability.

Using cryptic letters for Booleans makes it difficult to assign a name to the expression function, but if you apply to
less generic example, this becomes easier to do.

For example, if A is renamed to  Weekday, B means (time < 9:00pm), and C means (time < 6:00pm) you could write:

function Shopping_Mall_is_Open return Boolean is (if Weekday then Earlier_than_9_PM else Earlier_than_6_PM);

Then your other code would simply be,'

if Shopping_Mall_is_Open then ...

Brad