goodenou@wanginst.UUCP (John Goodenough) (06/24/85)
A recent message mentioned an implementer's need to decide how to interpret the Ada Standard. A reply said that comments on ambiguities/obscurities could be sent to ADA-COMMENT at ECLB.ARPA. ADA-COMMENT, however, is not a way to get fast answers to questions. The elapsed time to getting a definitive response is at least six months. This note points out two other sources for answers to questions: the Implementers' Guide (IG), and Commentaries on the Ada Language, as issued by the Ada Language Maintenance Committee. Although the primary purpose of the IG is to assist the people developing compiler validation tests (test implementers), it is also useful to compiler implementers because it discusses the consequences of Ada rules in borderline cases. A secondary purpose of the IG is to address questions that can be raised by careful readers of the RM, but certainly all interesting questions are not yet addressed. Since I am the principal author of the IG, I am interested in hearing about questions of interpretation from compiler implementers, both to ensure the IG is maximally helpful and to ensure the validation tests cover appropriate cases. (Of course, IG interpretations are not official. They can be, and have been, successfully challenged by others. The IG interpretation does, at least, give arguments that can help an implementer reach a decision.) The IG is not yet complete, but it is available online at ECLB in the ADA-LSN account. For those who do not have FTP access to ECLB, the available chapters and sections of the IG can be sent by net mail, and as new material is made available, it can be sent to you automatically (or you can just be notified of its existence if you don't want to receive it directly). There are about two megabytes of existing material (about half of it consists of descriptions of validation test objectives). To ask for this material and/or automatic updates, send a message to ADA-LSN at ECLB.ARPA with a cc to me, Goodenough at ISI.ARPA. Mention whether you want automatic updates or not. Send comments on IG deficiencies to the same places. The other source of interpretations of the Standard is the Ada Language Maintenance Committee (LMC). The LMC is responsible for recommending interpretations of the Standard to the AJPO Director (who issues interpretations of the ANSI/MIL standard). Its recommendations are also sent to the ISO Working Group responsible for Ada as an international standard. The output of the LMC consists of "commentaries" on the language and minutes of LMC meetings. (Commentaries are individual files addressing a specific issue raised by one or more comments sent to the LMC.) Information about the Committee's work is kept online in ADA-COMMENT at ECLB.ARPA. An index to existing commentaries is in the file AI-INDEX.TOC. Net mail can be used to send out updates of commentaries as they occur. (You should be warned that not all recommendations by the Committee are accepted at higher levels, so don't take a "committee approved" recommendation as definitive.) To get placed on the automatic distribution list or to be automatically notified when commentaries are created or revised, send a message to ADA-COMMENT at ECLB with a cc to me at ISI.ARPA. John B. Goodenough goodenou@wang-inst (CSNET) Wang Institute of Graduate Studies decvax!wanginst!goodenou (UUCP) Tyng Road, Tyngsboro, MA 01879 Goodenough@ISI (ARPA) (on leave from SofTech until June 1986) A D D (on leave from SofTech untill June 1986)