Path: ...!weretis.net!feeder9.news.weretis.net!i2pn.org!i2pn2.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail From: mitchalsup@aol.com (MitchAlsup1) Newsgroups: comp.arch Subject: Re: is Vax addressing sane today Date: Wed, 25 Sep 2024 17:30:46 +0000 Organization: Rocksolid Light Message-ID: References: <2024Sep6.080535@mips.complang.tuwien.ac.at> <2024Sep8.155511@mips.complang.tuwien.ac.at> <73c6d21457c487c61051ec52fe25ea5d@www.novabbs.org> <09ce1622b872f0b0fa944e868a8c97be@www.novabbs.org> <20240925200745.0000590f@yahoo.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Injection-Info: i2pn2.org; logging-data="3459775"; mail-complaints-to="usenet@i2pn2.org"; posting-account="65wTazMNTleAJDh/pRqmKE7ADni/0wesT78+pyiDW8A"; User-Agent: Rocksolid Light X-Rslight-Posting-User: ac58ceb75ea22753186dae54d967fed894c3dce8 X-Rslight-Site: $2y$10$0plJ/gBemLKyMUWSfvODa.xVtabvhVwvyg3pXk0FSZB4qjsmXvj.S X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 4.0.0 Bytes: 3164 Lines: 38 On Wed, 25 Sep 2024 17:07:45 +0000, Michael S wrote: > On Wed, 25 Sep 2024 09:54:17 -0700 > Stephen Fuld wrote: > >> On 9/10/2024 1:13 AM, Niklas Holsti wrote: >> >>> In the Ada case, the ability to declare array types with >>> programmer- chosen index types with bounded range, such as >>> range-bounded integers or enumerations, means that the compiler can >>> avoid indexing checks when the (sub)type of the index is known at >>> compile time to fit within the index range of the array. >> >> I have always liked the idea of variable ranges able to be specified >> in the language. Besides the advantages you mentioned, it provides >> more human "comprehensibility" (if the ranges are reasonably named) >> i.e. better internal documentation, and it makes responding to >> specification changes required later in the program life cycle easier >> and less error prone, i.e. if the range has to change, you change it >> in one place and don't risk missing making the change in some obscure >> part of the program you forgot about. >> >> > > The problem here is that arrays with fixed bounds were common when > Ada was conceived back in the mid 1970s. On general-purpose (as opposed > to embedded) computers they were already much rarer when Ada was shipped > in 1983. By late 1990s arrays with fixed bounds were rare exception > rather than rule. It sounds like variable ranges (array indexes) would be becoming more common, also. Where "variable range" is a variable that is defined to have a specified range, but from run to run the upper and lower bounds can be modified without re-compilation. > Except, of course, for many types of embedded computers. But even that > is gradually changing. Very gradually.