Re: Ada9X Features

[Michael Hagerty <mhagerty@FNOC.NAVY.MIL>]

On 13 Sep 1994, Michael Feldman <mfeldman@SEAS.GWU.EDU> responded to my
earler post:

MF> Good anecdote. I was not on the Pascal committee but followed some
  > of the discussions. I recall that the standard-making process stalled
  > for some time on the issue of "conformant array parameters", a seemingly
  > obvious idea in which array parameters to subprograms conform to the
  > bounds of the actual parameter (sort of a half-way "unconstrained array
  > type paramter" to use Ada's terms). This seemed natural to many,
  > especially since Fortran had it for years.

The discussion of conformant arrays is long and tedious with the
sentinel issue being that the originator of the proposed standard tacked
on a feature which had never been tested, saying "take it or leave it".
Note that this was not the designer of the language, but someone who was
believed to be advancing a personal agenda.  The animosity and distrust
engendered in the American committee as a result of this high-handed
tactic doomed conformant arrays to second-class status independent of
the feature's perceived usefulness or uselessness.

Without arguing the reasonableness of such (childish) behavior, I can
say from first hand participation, that there were many of us who were
badly chafed by the whole experience.  I do not believe that this has
happened on Ada9X.

MF> After all that, there are _two_ Pascal standards, one adopted by ISO
  > which includes conformant array parameters, and one adopted by ANSI,
  > which is the ISO one _minus_ conformant array parameters. The story
  > going around was that the US compiler vendors kept it out of the US
  > standard.

Not true anymore.  There is one and only one Extended Pascal Standard.
It does, however, forever relegate conformant arrays to second-class
status, indicating that they will be phased out in a future standard.

MF> And Pascal is a pretty simple language.:-)

Looking more and more like Ada every day...

Regards, Mikey
---
Michael Patrick Hagerty, Computer Sciences Corp.    | mhagerty@fnoc.navy.mil
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