Re: Ada name space (was: Re: good software engineering)

[emery@mitre-bedford.arpa (David Emery)]

A "trick" that I saw in the old AIE code was to define a standard
abbreviation for long package names:

	package LONG_AND_VERBOSE_DESCRIPTIVE_NAME is
    	  -- abbreviation: LVD_NAME
	...
	end LONG_AND_VERBOSE_DESCRIPTIVE_NAME;

then the abbreviation is used in a renames clause:

	with LONG_AND_VERBOSE_DESCRIPTIVE_NAME;
	procedure USER is
	   package LVD_NAME renames LONG_AND_VERBOSE_DESCRIPTIVE_NAME;
	...
	end USER;

The "bonus" from this system was that the filename was the same as the
abbreviation, so you'd have something like:

	lvd_name.spec
	lvd_name.body

So the abbreviations were 'standard' and people came to know and love
them, while the original long/descriptive names were still preserved,
and of course if you forgot what LVD_NAME is short for, you just have
to search for the renames clause.

				dave