13.13.2 Stream-Oriented Attributes
The type-related operational attributes Write, Read,
Output, and Input convert values to a stream of elements and reconstruct
values from a stream.
Static Semantics
For every subtype
S of an elementary type T, the following representation attribute
is defined:
S'Stream_Size
Denotes the number of bits read
from or written to a stream by the default implementations of S'Read
and S'Write. Hence, the number of stream elements required per item of
elementary type
T is:
T'Stream_Size / Ada.Streams.Stream_Element'Size
The value of this attribute is of type
universal_integer and is a multiple of Stream_Element'Size.
Stream_Size may be specified for first
subtypes via an
attribute_definition_clause;
the
expression
of such a clause shall be static, nonnegative, and a multiple of Stream_Element'Size.
Implementation Advice
If not specified, the value of Stream_Size for
an elementary type should be the number of bits that corresponds to the
minimum number of stream elements required by the first subtype of the
type, rounded up to the nearest factor or multiple of the word size that
is also a multiple of the stream element size.
The
recommended level of support for the Stream_Size attribute is:
A Stream_Size clause should be supported for a
discrete or fixed point type T if the specified Stream_Size is
a multiple of Stream_Element'Size and is no less than the size of the
first subtype of T, and no greater than the size of the largest
type of the same elementary class (signed integer, modular integer, enumeration,
ordinary fixed point, or decimal fixed point).
Static Semantics
For every subtype S of a specific type T,
the following attributes are defined.
S'Write
S'Write denotes a procedure with
the following specification:
procedure S'Write(
Stream : not null access Ada.Streams.Root_Stream_Type'Class;
Item : in T)
S'Write writes the value of Item
to Stream.
S'Read
S'Read denotes a procedure with
the following specification:
procedure S'Read(
Stream : not null access Ada.Streams.Root_Stream_Type'Class;
Item : out T)
S'Read reads the value of Item from
Stream.
For an untagged derived type, the Write (resp.
Read) attribute is inherited according to the rules given in
13.1
if the attribute is specified and available for the parent type at the
point where
T is declared. For a tagged derived type, these attributes
are not inherited, but rather the default implementations are used.
The default implementations
of the Write and Read attributes, where available, execute as follows:
For elementary types, Read reads (and Write writes)
the number of stream elements implied by the Stream_Size for the type
T; the representation of those stream elements is implementation
defined. For composite types, the Write or Read attribute for each component
is called in canonical order, which is last dimension varying fastest
for an array (unless the convention of the array is Fortran, in which
case it is first dimension varying fastest), and positional aggregate
order for a record. Bounds are not included in the stream if T
is an array type. If T is a discriminated type, discriminants
are included only if they have defaults. If T is a tagged type,
the tag is not included. For type extensions, the Write or Read attribute
for the parent type is called, followed by the Write or Read attribute
of each component of the extension part, in canonical order. For a limited
type extension, if the attribute of the parent type or any progenitor
type of T is available anywhere within the immediate scope of
T, and the attribute of the parent type or the type of any of
the extension components is not available at the freezing point of T,
then the attribute of T shall be directly specified.
If T is a discriminated type and its discriminants
have defaults, then S'Read first reads the discriminants from the stream
without modifying Item. S'Read then creates an object of type
T constrained by these discriminants. The value of this object
is then converted to the subtype of Item and is assigned to Item.
Finally, the Read attribute for each nondiscriminant component of Item
is called in canonical order as described above. Normal default initialization
and finalization take place for the created object.
Constraint_Error is raised by the predefined Write
attribute if the value of the elementary item is outside the range of
values representable using Stream_Size bits. For a signed integer type,
an enumeration type, or a fixed point type, the range is unsigned only
if the integer code for the lower bound of the first subtype is nonnegative,
and a (symmetric) signed range that covers all values of the first subtype
would require more than Stream_Size bits; otherwise, the range is signed.
For every subtype S'Class
of a class-wide type T'Class:
S'Class'Write
S'Class'Write denotes a procedure
with the following specification:
procedure S'Class'Write(
Stream : not null access Ada.Streams.Root_Stream_Type'Class;
Item : in T'Class)
Dispatches to the subprogram denoted by
the Write attribute of the specific type identified by the tag of Item.
S'Class'Read
S'Class'Read denotes a procedure
with the following specification:
procedure S'Class'Read(
Stream : not null access Ada.Streams.Root_Stream_Type'Class;
Item : out T'Class)
Dispatches to the subprogram denoted by
the Read attribute of the specific type identified by the tag of Item.
Paragraph 17 was
deleted.
Static Semantics
For every subtype S of a specific type T,
the following attributes are defined.
S'Output
S'Output denotes a procedure
with the following specification:
procedure S'Output(
Stream : not null access Ada.Streams.Root_Stream_Type'Class;
Item : in T)
S'Output writes the value of Item
to Stream, including any bounds or discriminants.
S'Input
S'Input denotes a function with
the following specification:
function S'Input(
Stream : not null access Ada.Streams.Root_Stream_Type'Class)
return T
S'Input reads and returns one value from
Stream, using any bounds or discriminants written by a corresponding
S'Output to determine how much to read.
For an untagged derived type, the Output (resp.
Input) attribute is inherited according to the rules given in
13.1
if the attribute is specified and available for the parent type at the
point where
T is declared. For a tagged derived type, these attributes
are not inherited, but rather the default implementations are used.
The default implementations
of the Output and Input attributes, where available, execute as follows:
If T is an array type, S'Output first writes
the bounds, and S'Input first reads the bounds. If T has discriminants
without defaults, S'Output first writes the discriminants (using the
Write attribute of the discriminant type for each), and S'Input first
reads the discriminants (using the Read attribute of the discriminant
type for each).
S'Output then calls S'Write to write the value
of
Item to the stream. S'Input then creates an object of type
T, with the bounds or (when without defaults) the discriminants,
if any, taken from the stream, passes it to S'Read, and returns the value
of the object. If
T has discriminants, then this object is unconstrained
if and only the discriminants have defaults. Normal default initialization
and finalization take place for this object (see
3.3.1,
7.6, and
7.6.1).
If T is an abstract type, then S'Input
is an abstract function.
For every subtype S'Class
of a class-wide type T'Class:
S'Class'Output
S'Class'Output denotes a procedure
with the following specification:
procedure S'Class'Output(
Stream : not null access Ada.Streams.Root_Stream_Type'Class;
Item : in T'Class)
First writes the external tag of
Item
to
Stream (by calling String'Output(
Stream, Tags.External_Tag(
Item'Tag))
— see
3.9) and then dispatches to the
subprogram denoted by the Output attribute of the specific type identified
by the tag. Tag_Error is raised if the tag of Item identifies a type
declared at an accessibility level deeper than that of S.
S'Class'Input
S'Class'Input denotes a function
with the following specification:
function S'Class'Input(
Stream : not null access Ada.Streams.Root_Stream_Type'Class)
return T'Class
First reads the external tag from
Stream
and determines the corresponding internal tag (by calling Tags.Descendant_Tag(String'Input(
Stream),
S'Tag) which might raise Tag_Error — see
3.9)
and then dispatches to the subprogram denoted by the Input attribute
of the specific type identified by the internal tag; returns that result.
If the specific type identified by the internal tag is abstract, Constraint_Error
is raised.
In the default
implementation of Read and Input for a composite type, for each scalar
component that is a discriminant or that has an implicit initial value,
a check is made that the value returned by Read for the component belongs
to its subtype.
Constraint_Error is raised if this
check fails. For other scalar components, no check is made. For each
component that is of an access type, if the implementation can detect
that the value returned by Read for the component is not a value of its
subtype, Constraint_Error is raised. If the value is not a value of its
subtype and this error is not detected, the component has an abnormal
value, and erroneous execution can result (see
13.9.1).
In the default implementation of Read for a composite type with defaulted
discriminants, if the actual parameter of Read is constrained, a check
is made that the discriminants read from the stream are equal to those
of the actual parameter. Constraint_Error is raised if this check fails.
It is unspecified at which point
and in which order these checks are performed. In particular, if Constraint_Error
is raised due to the failure of one of these checks, it is unspecified
how many stream elements have been read from the stream.
In the default implementation
of Read and Input for a type, End_Error is raised if the end of the stream
is reached before the reading of a value of the type is completed.
The
stream-oriented attributes may be specified for any type via an
attribute_definition_clause.
Alternatively, each of the specific stream-oriented attributes may be
specified using an
aspect_specification
on any
type_declaration,
with the aspect name being the corresponding attribute name. Each of
the class-wide stream-oriented attributes may be specified using an
aspect_specification
for a tagged type
T using the name of the stream-oriented attribute
followed by 'Class; such class-wide aspects do not apply to other descendants
of
T.
A stream-oriented
attribute for a subtype of a specific type
T is
available
at places where one of the following conditions is true:
T is nonlimited.
The
attribute_designator
is Read (resp. Write) and
T is a limited record extension, and
the attribute Read (resp. Write) is available for the parent type of
T and for the types of all of the extension components.
T is a limited untagged derived type, and
the attribute was inherited for the type.
The
attribute_designator
is Input (resp. Output), and
T is a limited type, and the attribute
Read (resp. Write) is available for
T.
A stream-oriented
attribute for a subtype of a class-wide type T'Class is available
at places where one of the following conditions is true:
T is nonlimited;
the corresponding attribute of T is available,
provided that if T has a partial view, the corresponding attribute
is available at the end of the visible part where T is declared.
An
attribute_reference
for one of the stream-oriented attributes is illegal unless the attribute
is available at the place of the
attribute_reference.
Furthermore, an
attribute_reference
for
T'Input is illegal if
T is an abstract type.
In addition to the places where Legality Rules normally apply (see
12.3),
these rules also apply in the private part of an instance of a generic
unit.
Unless inherited from a parent type, if any, for
an untagged type having a task, protected, or explicitly limited record
part, the default implementation of each of the Read, Write, Input, and
Output attributes raises Program_Error and performs no other action.
In the
parameter_and_result_profiles
for the default implementations of the stream-oriented attributes, the
subtype of the Item parameter is the base subtype of
T if
T
is a scalar type, and the first subtype otherwise. The same rule applies
to the result of the Input attribute.
For an
attribute_definition_clause
specifying one of these attributes, the subtype of the
Item parameter
shall be the first subtype or the base subtype if scalar, and the first
subtype if not scalar. The same rule applies to the result of the Input
function.
A type is
said to
support external streaming if Read and Write attributes
are provided for sending values of such a type between active partitions,
with Write marshalling the representation, and Read unmarshalling the
representation. A limited type supports external streaming only if it
has available Read and Write attributes. A type with a part that is of
a nonremote access type supports external streaming only if that access
type or the type of some part that includes the access type component,
has Read and Write attributes that have been specified via an
attribute_definition_clause,
and that
attribute_definition_clause
is visible. An anonymous access type does not support external streaming.
All other types (including remote access types, see
E.2.2)
support external streaming.
Erroneous Execution
If the internal tag returned
by Descendant_Tag to T'Class'Input identifies a type that is not library-level
and whose tag has not been created, or does not exist in the partition
at the time of the call, execution is erroneous.
Implementation Requirements
For every subtype S of a language-defined
nonlimited specific type T, the output generated by S'Output or
S'Write shall be readable by S'Input or S'Read, respectively. This rule
applies across partitions if the implementation conforms to the Distributed
Systems Annex.
If Constraint_Error is raised during a call to Read
because of failure of one the above checks, the implementation shall
ensure that the discriminants of the actual parameter of Read are not
modified.
Implementation Permissions
The number of calls performed by the predefined
implementation of the stream-oriented attributes on the Read and Write
operations of the stream type is unspecified. An implementation may take
advantage of this permission to perform internal buffering. However,
all the calls on the Read and Write operations of the stream type needed
to implement an explicit invocation of a stream-oriented attribute shall
take place before this invocation returns. An explicit invocation is
one appearing explicitly in the program text, possibly through a generic
instantiation (see
12.3).
If T is a discriminated type and its discriminants
have defaults, then in two cases an execution of the default implementation
of S'Read is not required to create an anonymous object of type T:
If the discriminant values that are read in are equal to the corresponding
discriminant values of Item, then no object of type T need
be created and Item may be used instead. If they are not equal
and Item is a constrained variable, then Constraint_Error may
be raised at that point, before any further values are read from the
stream and before the object of type T is created.
A default implementation of S'Input that calls
the default implementation of S'Read may create a constrained anonymous
object with discriminants that match those in the stream.
40 For a definite subtype S of a type T,
only T'Write and T'Read are needed to pass an arbitrary
value of the subtype through a stream. For an indefinite subtype S of
a type T, T'Output and T'Input will normally be
needed, since T'Write and T'Read do not pass bounds, discriminants,
or tags.
41 User-specified attributes of S'Class
are not inherited by other class-wide types descended from S.
Examples
Example of user-defined
Write attribute:
procedure My_Write(
Stream : not null access Ada.Streams.Root_Stream_Type'Class;
Item : My_Integer'Base);
for My_Integer'Write use My_Write;
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