AE96 - Information Systems Programming in Ada 95

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Information Systems Programming in Ada 95

by Benjamin M. Brosgol

Thomson Software Products
200 Wheeler Road, Burlington, MA 01803 USA
Phone: +1 (617) 221-7317 - Fax: +1 (617) 270-6882
Email: brosgol@east.thomsoft.com

Abstract: One of the major objectives of Ada 95 was to address the requirements for developing Information Systems ("IS") applications, which in the past have typically been the domain for COBOL. Important requirements are: performing exact decimal arithmetic; interfacing with external software (in particular C and COBOL) and external data formats; producing formatted output for numeric data (so-called "Edited Output"), with control over currency string, sign, and other properties; and dealing with character and string data. Ada 95 has addressed these requirements through a combination of facilities found in the core language, the predefined library, the Interfaces Annex, and the Information Systems Annex.
This tutorial will summarize the IS-related facilities of Ada 95. Specific requirements underlying these features will be described, the semantics and rationale for important design decisions will be presented, and an extended example illustrating the Ada 95 functionality will be explained. Particular attention will be paid to the Edited Output package: although it is defined in the IS Annex, it is a generally useful facility that will also be applicable to general programming. Ada 95 provides Edited Output capabilities that are not found in COBOL - in particular the ability to localize a currency string to more than one character, and to arrange parentheses as the sign for a negative quantity - and it appears that parts of the Ada solution will be adopted in the next COBOL standard.

Background: Some knowledge of Ada 83 would be helpful. No previous experience with Ada 95 is required.

Biography: Dr. Brosgol has been conducting Ada training since 1982 and has presented half-day and full-day Ada tutorials previously at many conferences, including AdaTec (1982), Ada Europe (1983, 1990), TRI-Ada (1993), WAdaS (1986, 1993), and the Software Technology Conference (1994). He conducts a variety of Ada-related courses for Thomson Software Products, including Programming in Ada 95, Real-Time Programming in Ada, Windows Programming with ActivAda, and many others.
Dr. Brosgol designed Ada 95's Information Systems-related facilities and is the liaison from WG9 (Ada) to WG4 (COBOL).

Abstract:	One of the major objectives of Ada 95 was to address the requirements for developing Information Systems ("IS") applications, which in the past have typically been the domain for COBOL. Important requirements are: performing exact decimal arithmetic; interfacing with external software (in particular C and COBOL) and external data formats; producing formatted output for numeric data (so-called "Edited Output"), with control over currency string, sign, and other properties; and dealing with character and string data. Ada 95 has addressed these requirements through a combination of facilities found in the core language, the predefined library, the Interfaces Annex, and the Information Systems Annex. This tutorial will summarize the IS-related facilities of Ada 95. Specific requirements underlying these features will be described, the semantics and rationale for important design decisions will be presented, and an extended example illustrating the Ada 95 functionality will be explained. Particular attention will be paid to the Edited Output package: although it is defined in the IS Annex, it is a generally useful facility that will also be applicable to general programming. Ada 95 provides Edited Output capabilities that are not found in COBOL - in particular the ability to localize a currency string to more than one character, and to arrange parentheses as the sign for a negative quantity - and it appears that parts of the Ada solution will be adopted in the next COBOL standard.
Background:	Some knowledge of Ada 83 would be helpful. No previous experience with Ada 95 is required.
Biography:	Dr. Brosgol has been conducting Ada training since 1982 and has presented half-day and full-day Ada tutorials previously at many conferences, including AdaTec (1982), Ada Europe (1983, 1990), TRI-Ada (1993), WAdaS (1986, 1993), and the Software Technology Conference (1994). He conducts a variety of Ada-related courses for Thomson Software Products, including Programming in Ada 95, Real-Time Programming in Ada, Windows Programming with ActivAda, and many others. Dr. Brosgol designed Ada 95's Information Systems-related facilities and is the liaison from WG9 (Ada) to WG4 (COBOL).

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