Spring 1996 Graduate Seminar Abstract

The Ada Standard Generic Library (SGL)

Alexander V. Konstantinou

Slides : [ Adobe PDF (193K) ] [ Postscript (765K) ]
The Standard Template Library (STL), a recent addition to the ANSI C++ draft standard, "provides a set of well structured generic C++ components that work together in a seamless way". The popularity of STL stems from its combination of an orthogonal design, solid theoretical foundation, and strong emphasis on efficiency. This talk will present a design scheme for implementing the C++ STL library components in Ada 95.

The availability of generics in Ada, as early as 1983, has long attracted researchers of generic library components, including the designers of the C++ Standard Template Library. Language restrictions in the 1983 standard, however, prevented the implementation of some of the main STL components. Now that the long awaited revised 9X standard for Ada has been finalized into Ada 95, many of the earlier restrictions have been lifted, making it appropriate to re-examine the issue.

The talk will include a brief introduction to the STL library components, and relevant Ada 95 language features. Experiences and insights gained while mapping the C++ library design to the Ada 95 language features will be shared. This project is an extension of previous work pursued with Úlfar Erlingsson, and under the supervision of professor David Musser.

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