Chapter 7: Portability - TOC - 7.6 REPRESENTATION CLAUSES AND IMPLEMENTATION-DEPENDENT FEATURES

7.6.5 Implementation-Specific Pragmas and Attributes

guideline

Avoid pragmas and attributes added by the compiler implementor.

rationale

The Ada Reference Manual (1995) permits an implementor to add pragmas and attributes to exploit a particular hardware architecture or software environment. These are obviously even more implementation-specific and therefore less portable than an implementor's interpretations of the predefined pragmas and attributes. However, the Ada Reference Manual (1995) defines a set of annexes that have a uniform and consistent approach to certain specialized needs, namely, real-time systems, distributed systems, information systems, numerics, interfacing to foreign languages, and safety and security. You should always prefer the facilities defined in the annexes to any vendor-defined pragmas and attributes.