Re: Numeric Types

Michael Lazzaro wrote:
> 
> Does someone from internals want to take on the task of finalizing this 
> list?  We need to decide if we want to support none, some, or all of 
> these types/aliases.
> 
> -----
> 
> The Full List of Numeric Types
> 
> In addition to the standard int and num, there are a great number of 
> other numeric types available. If your program makes use of code written 
> in other languages, such as C, C++, Java, C#, etc., or if you want your 
> program to make use of low-level system or library calls, you will 
> frequently need to use more exact types that correspond to what the 
> other language expects to see. You might also wish to use the more 
> specific primitive types when you can guarantee certain bounds 
> restrictions on numbers, and simply want to squeeze every unnecessary 
> byte out of the generated code.
 >
 > [ very long list snipped]

I still don't understand why we want to go to all this hassle of
completing a vast list primitives to support mappings onto languages and 
architectures that have yet to be invented. I still prefer to keep 
things simple:


my Number $a is ctype("unsigned long int") = 42;
my Number $b is ctype("my_int32") = 42;

The definition of this type depends on the system you're running on. If 
you require a specific range, independent on compiler/architecture: then 
primitive types is the wrong mechanism:

my Integer $a is range(0..16:ffffffff) = 42;
my Real $b is range(0..^1;0.001) = rand; # correct syntax?
my String $x is null_terminated is ctype(const char *) = "hello";


You can rename the types if you want; but properties are a better 
representation of constraints than type names: more precise, and more 
flexible.


Dave.