Introduction
This is the Annotated Ada Reference Manual.
Discussion: This document is the Annotated
Ada Reference Manual (AARM). It contains the entire text of the Ada 202y 2022
standard (ISO/IEC 8652:202y 2023),
plus various annotations. It is intended primarily for compiler writers,
validation test writers, and other language lawyers. The annotations
include detailed rationale for individual rules and explanations of some
of the more arcane interactions among the rules.
Other available Ada
documents include:
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Ada 2022 Overview. This gives an introduction to the changes and new
features in Ada 2022. Programmers should read this overview before reading
Reference Manual in depth.
This paragraph
was deleted.
The Ada Reference Manual (RM). This directly corresponds
to the International Standard — ISO/IEC 8652:202y 2023.
Design
Goals
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Ada was originally designed with three overriding concerns: program reliability
and maintenance, programming as a human activity, and efficiency. The
1995 revision to the language was designed to provide greater flexibility
and extensibility, additional control over storage management and synchronization,
and standardized packages oriented toward supporting important application
areas, while at the same time retaining the original emphasis on reliability,
maintainability, and efficiency. Subsequent editions, including this
fourth edition, have provided further flexibility and added more standardized
packages within the framework provided by the 1995 revision.
The need for languages that promote reliability and
simplify maintenance is well established. Hence emphasis was placed on
program readability over ease of writing. For example, the rules of the
language require that program variables be explicitly declared and that
their type be specified. Since the type of a variable is invariant, compilers
can ensure that operations on variables are compatible with the properties
intended for objects of the type. Furthermore, error-prone notations
have been avoided, and the syntax of the language avoids the use of encoded
forms in favor of more English-like constructs. Finally, the language
offers support for separate compilation of program units in a way that
facilitates program development and maintenance, and which provides the
same degree of checking between units as within a unit.
Concern for the human programmer was also stressed
during the design. Above all, an attempt was made to keep to a relatively
small number of underlying concepts integrated in a consistent and systematic
way while continuing to avoid the pitfalls of excessive involution. The
design especially aims to provide language constructs that correspond
intuitively to the normal expectations of users.
Like many other human activities, the development
of programs is becoming ever more decentralized and distributed. Consequently,
the ability to assemble a program from independently produced software
components continues to be a central idea in the design. The concepts
of packages, of private types, and of generic units are directly related
to this idea, which has ramifications in many other aspects of the language.
An allied concern is the maintenance of programs to match changing requirements;
type extension and the hierarchical library enable a program to be modified
while minimizing disturbance to existing tested and trusted components.
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No language can avoid the problem of efficiency. Languages that require
over-elaborate compilers, or that lead to the inefficient use of storage
or execution time, force these inefficiencies on all machines and on
all programs. Every construct of the language was examined in the light
of present implementation techniques. Any proposed construct whose implementation
was unclear or that required excessive machine resources was rejected.
Parallel constructs were introduced to simplify making safe and efficient
use of modern multicore architectures.
Language
Summary
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An Ada program is composed of one or more program units. Program units
can be subprograms (which define executable algorithms), packages (which
define collections of entities), task units (which define concurrent
computations), protected units (which define operations for the coordinated
sharing of data between tasks), or generic units (which define parameterized
forms of packages and subprograms). Each program unit normally consists
of two parts: a specification, containing the information that is visible
to other units, and a body, containing the implementation details, which
are not visible to other units. Most program units can be compiled separately.
This distinction of the specification and body, and
the ability to compile units separately, allows a program to be designed,
written, and tested as a set of largely independent software components.
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An Ada program will normally make use of a library of program units of
general utility. The language provides means whereby individual organizations
can construct their own libraries. All libraries are structured in a
hierarchical manner; this enables the logical decomposition of a subsystem
into individual components. The text of a separately compiled program
unit names the library units it requires.
Program Units
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A subprogram is the basic unit for expressing an algorithm. There are
two kinds of subprograms: procedures and functions. A procedure is the
means of invoking a series of actions. For example, it can read data,
update variables, or produce some output. It can have parameters, to
provide a controlled means of passing information between the procedure
and the point of call. A function is the means of invoking the computation
of a value. It is similar to a procedure, but in addition will return
a result.
A package is the basic unit for defining a collection
of logically related entities. For example, a package can be used to
define a set of type declarations and associated operations. Portions
of a package can be hidden from the user, thus allowing access only to
the logical properties expressed by the package specification.
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Subprogram and package units can be compiled separately and arranged
in hierarchies of parent and child units giving fine control over visibility
of the logical properties and their detailed implementation.
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A task unit is the basic unit for defining a task whose sequence of actions
can be executed concurrently with those of other tasks. Such tasks can
be implemented on multicomputers, multiprocessors, or with interleaved
execution on a single processor. A task unit can define either a single
executing task or a task type permitting the creation of any number of
similar tasks.
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A protected unit is the basic unit for defining protected operations
for the coordinated use of data shared between tasks. Simple mutual exclusion
is provided automatically, and more elaborate sharing protocols can be
defined. A protected operation can either be a subprogram or an entry.
A protected entry specifies a Boolean expression (an entry barrier) that
blocks the execution of the body until it evaluates to True. A protected
unit can define a single protected object or a protected type permitting
the creation of several similar objects.
Declarations and Statements
The body of a program unit generally contains two
parts: a declarative part, which defines the logical entities to be used
in the program unit, and a sequence of statements, which defines the
execution of the program unit.
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The declarative part associates names with declared entities. For example,
a name can denote a type, a constant, a variable, or an exception. A
declarative part also introduces the names and parameters of other nested
subprograms, packages, task units, protected units, and generic units
to be used in the program unit.
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The sequence of statements describes a sequence of actions to be performed.
The statements are executed in succession (unless a transfer of control
causes execution to continue from another place).
An assignment statement changes the value of a variable.
A procedure call invokes execution of a procedure after associating any
actual parameters provided at the call with the corresponding formal
parameters.
Case statements and if statements allow the selection
of an enclosed sequence of statements based on the value of an expression
or on the value of a condition.
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The loop statement provides the basic iterative mechanism in the language.
A loop statement specifies a sequence of statements that are executed
repeatedly as directed by an iteration scheme, or until an exit statement
is encountered.
A block statement comprises a sequence of statements
preceded by the declaration of local entities used by the statements.
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Certain statements are associated with concurrent execution. A delay
statement delays the execution of a task for a specified duration or
until a specified time. An entry call statement is written as a procedure
call statement; it requests an operation on a task or on a protected
object, blocking the caller until the operation can be performed. A called
task can accept an entry call by executing a corresponding accept statement,
which specifies the actions then to be performed as part of the rendezvous
with the calling task. An entry call on a protected object is processed
when the corresponding entry barrier evaluates to true, whereupon the
body of the entry is executed. The requeue statement permits the provision
of a service as a number of related activities with preference control.
One form of the select statement allows a selective wait for one of several
alternative rendezvous. Other forms of the select statement allow conditional
or timed entry calls and the asynchronous transfer of control in response
to some triggering event. Various parallel constructs, including parallel
loops and parallel blocks, support the initiation of multiple logical
threads of control designed to execute in parallel when multiple processors
are available.
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Execution of a program unit can encounter error situations in which normal
program execution cannot continue. For example, an arithmetic computation
can exceed the maximum allowed value of a number, or an attempt can be
made to access an array component by using an incorrect index value.
To deal with such error situations, the statements of a program unit
can be textually followed by exception handlers that specify the actions
to be taken when the error situation arises. Exceptions can be raised
explicitly by a raise statement.
Data Types
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Every object in the language has a type, which characterizes a set of
values and a set of applicable operations. The main categories of types
are elementary types (comprising enumeration, numeric, and access types)
and composite types (including array and record types).
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An enumeration type defines an ordered set of distinct enumeration literals,
for example a list of states or an alphabet of characters. The enumeration
types Boolean, Character, Wide_Character, and Wide_Wide_Character are
predefined.
Numeric types provide a means of performing exact
or approximate numerical computations. Exact computations use integer
types, which denote sets of consecutive integers. Approximate computations
use either fixed point types, with absolute bounds on the error, or floating
point types, with relative bounds on the error. The numeric types Integer,
Float, and Duration are predefined.
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Composite types allow definitions of structured objects with related
components. The composite types in the language include arrays and records.
An array is an object with indexed components of the same type. A record
is an object with named components of possibly different types. Task
and protected types are also forms of composite types. The array types
String, Wide_String, and Wide_Wide_String are predefined.
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Record, task, and protected types can have special components called
discriminants which parameterize the type. Variant record structures
that depend on the values of discriminants can be defined within a record
type.
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Access types allow the construction of linked data structures. A value
of an access type represents a reference to an object declared as aliased
or to an object created by the evaluation of an allocator. Several variables
of an access type can designate the same object, and components of one
object can designate the same or other objects. Both the elements in
such linked data structures and their relation to other elements can
be altered during program execution. Access types also permit references
to subprograms to be stored, passed as parameters, and ultimately dereferenced
as part of an indirect call.
Private types permit restricted views of a type.
A private type can be defined in a package so that only the logically
necessary properties are made visible to the users of the type. The full
structural details that are externally irrelevant are then only available
within the package and any child units.
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From any type a new type can be defined by derivation. A type, together
with its derivatives (both direct and indirect) form a derivation class.
Class-wide operations can be defined that accept as a parameter an operand
of any type in a derivation class. For record and private types, the
derivatives can be extensions of the parent type. Types that support
these object-oriented capabilities of class-wide operations and type
extension are tagged, so that the specific type of an operand within
a derivation class can be identified at run time. When an operation of
a tagged type is applied to an operand whose specific type is not known
until run time, implicit dispatching is performed based on the tag of
the operand.
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Interface types provide abstract models from which other interfaces and
types can be composed and derived. This provides a reliable form of multiple
inheritance. Interface types can also be implemented by task types and
protected types thereby enabling concurrent programming and inheritance
to be merged.
The concept of a type is further refined by the concept
of a subtype, whereby a user can constrain the set of allowed values
of a type. Subtypes can be used to define subranges of scalar types,
arrays with a limited set of index values, and records and private types
with particular discriminant values.
Other Facilities
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Aspect clauses can be used to specify the mapping between types and features
of an underlying machine. For example, the user can specify that objects
of a given type are to be represented with a given number of bits, or
that the components of a record are to be represented using a given storage
layout. Other features allow the controlled use of low level, nonportable,
or implementation-dependent aspects, including the direct insertion of
machine code.
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Aspect clauses can also be used to specify more abstract properties of
program entities, such as the pre- and postconditions of a subprogram,
or the invariant for a private type. Additional aspects are specifiable
to allow user-defined types to use constructs of the language, such as
literals, aggregates, or indexing, normally reserved for particular language-defined
categories of types, such as numeric types, record types, or array types.
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The predefined environment of the language provides for input-output
and other capabilities by means of standard library packages. Input-output
is supported for values of user-defined as well as of predefined types.
Standard means of representing values in display form are also provided.
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The predefined standard library packages provide facilities such as string
manipulation, containers of various kinds (vectors, lists, maps, etc.),
mathematical functions, random number generation, and access to the execution
environment.
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The specialized annexes define further predefined library packages and
facilities with emphasis on areas such as real-time scheduling, interrupt
handling, distributed systems, numerical computation, and high-integrity
systems.
Finally, the language provides a powerful means of
parameterization of program units, called generic program units. The
generic parameters can be types and subprograms (as well as objects and
packages) and so allow general algorithms and data structures to be defined
that are applicable to all types of a given class.
Paragraphs 44 through
57 have been replaced and moved to the Foreword.
Instructions
for Comment Submission
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Informal comments on this Reference
Manual can be submitted in three ways:
via e-mail to:
ada-comment@ada-auth.org
by filling out a
web form at:
by creating a new
“issue” on the ARG GitHub site:
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If appropriate, the Project Editor will initiate the defect correction
procedure.
Comments should use the following format:
!topic Title summarizing comment
!reference Ada 2022 RMss.ss(pp)
!from Author Name yy-mm-dd
!keywords keywords related to topic
!discussion
text of discussion
where ss.ss is the clause or subclause number,
pp is the paragraph number where applicable, and yy-mm-dd
is the date the comment was sent. The date is optional, as is the !keywords
line.
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Please use a descriptive “Subject” when sending an e-mail
message, or title when creating a new issue, and limit each message to
a single comment.
When correcting typographical errors or making minor
wording suggestions, please put the correction directly as the topic
of the comment; use square brackets [ ] to indicate text to be omitted
and curly braces { } to indicate text to be added, and provide enough
context to make the nature of the suggestion self-evident or put additional
information in the body of the comment, for example:
!topic [c]{C}haracter
!topic it[']s meaning is not defined
Acknowledgements
for the Ada 83 edition
Ada is the result of a collective effort to design
a common language for programming large scale and real-time systems.
The common high order language program began in
1974. The requirements of the United States Department of Defense were
formalized in a series of documents which were extensively reviewed by
the Services, industrial organizations, universities, and foreign military
departments. The Ada language was designed in accordance with the final
(1978) form of these requirements, embodied in the Steelman specification.
The Ada design team was led by Jean D. Ichbiah
and has included Bernd Krieg-Brueckner, Brian A. Wichmann, Henry F. Ledgard,
Jean-Claude Heliard, Jean-Loup Gailly, Jean-Raymond Abrial, John G.P.
Barnes, Mike Woodger, Olivier Roubine, Paul N. Hilfinger, and Robert
Firth.
At various stages of the project, several people
closely associated with the design team made major contributions. They
include J.B. Goodenough, R.F. Brender, M.W. Davis, G. Ferran, K. Lester,
L. MacLaren, E. Morel, I.R. Nassi, I.C. Pyle, S.A. Schuman, and S.C.
Vestal.
Two parallel efforts that were started in the second
phase of this design had a deep influence on the language. One was the
development of a formal definition using denotational semantics, with
the participation of V. Donzeau-Gouge, G. Kahn, and B. Lang. The other
was the design of a test translator with the participation of K. Ripken,
P. Boullier, P. Cadiou, J. Holden, J.F. Hueras, R.G. Lange, and D.T.
Cornhill. The entire effort benefitted from the dedicated assistance
of Lyn Churchill and Marion Myers, and the effective technical support
of B. Gravem, W.L. Heimerdinger, and P. Cleve. H.G. Schmitz served as
program manager.
Over the five years spent on this project, several
intense week-long design reviews were conducted, with the participation
of P. Belmont, B. Brosgol, P. Cohen, R. Dewar, A. Evans, G. Fisher, H.
Harte, A.L. Hisgen, P. Knueven, M. Kronental, N. Lomuto, E. Ploedereder,
G. Seegmueller, V. Stenning, D. Taffs, and also F. Belz, R. Converse,
K. Correll, A.N. Habermann, J. Sammet, S. Squires, J. Teller, P. Wegner,
and P.R. Wetherall.
Several persons had a constructive influence with
their comments, criticisms and suggestions. They include P. Brinch Hansen,
G. Goos, C.A.R. Hoare, Mark Rain, W.A. Wulf, and also E. Boebert, P.
Bonnard, H. Clausen, M. Cox, G. Dismukes, R. Eachus, T. Froggatt, H.
Ganzinger, C. Hewitt, S. Kamin, R. Kotler, O. Lecarme, J.A.N. Lee, J.L.
Mansion, F. Minel, T. Phinney, J. Roehrich, V. Schneider, A. Singer,
D. Slosberg, I.C. Wand, the reviewers of Ada-Europe, AdaTech, Afcet,
those of the LMSC review team, and those of the Ada Tokyo Study Group.
These reviews and comments, the numerous evaluation
reports received at the end of the first and second phase, the nine hundred
language issue reports and test and evaluation reports received from
fifteen different countries during the third phase of the project, the
thousands of comments received during the ANSI Canvass, and the on-going
work of the IFIP Working Group 2.4 on system implementation languages
and that of the Purdue Europe LTPL-E committee, all had a substantial
influence on the final definition of Ada.
The Military Departments and Agencies have provided
a broad base of support including funding, extensive reviews, and countless
individual contributions by the members of the High Order Language Working
Group and other interested personnel. In particular, William A. Whitaker
provided leadership for the program during the formative stages. David
A. Fisher was responsible for the successful development and refinement
of the language requirement documents that led to the Steelman specification.
The Ada 83 language definition was developed by
Cii Honeywell Bull and later Alsys, and by Honeywell Systems and Research
Center, under contract to the United States Department of Defense. William
E. Carlson and later Larry E. Druffel served as the technical representatives
of the United States Government and effectively coordinated the efforts
of all participants in the Ada program.
Acknowledgements
for the Ada 95 edition
This Reference Manual was prepared by the Ada 9X
Mapping/Revision Team based at Intermetrics, Inc., which has included:
W. Carlson, Program Manager; T. Taft, Technical Director; J. Barnes (consultant);
B. Brosgol (consultant); R. Duff (Oak Tree Software); M. Edwards; C.
Garrity; R. Hilliard; O. Pazy (consultant); D. Rosenfeld; L. Shafer;
W. White; M. Woodger.
The following consultants to the Ada 9X Project contributed
to the Specialized Needs Annexes: T. Baker (Real-Time/Systems Programming
— SEI, FSU); K. Dritz (Numerics — Argonne National Laboratory);
A. Gargaro (Distributed Systems — Computer Sciences); J. Goodenough
(Real-Time/Systems Programming — SEI); J. McHugh (Secure Systems
— consultant); B. Wichmann (Safety-Critical Systems — NPL:
UK).
This work was regularly reviewed by the Ada 9X Distinguished
Reviewers and the members of the Ada 9X Rapporteur Group (XRG): E. Ploedereder,
Chairman of DRs and XRG (University of Stuttgart: Germany); B. Bardin
(Hughes); J. Barnes (consultant: UK); B. Brett (DEC); B. Brosgol (consultant);
R. Brukardt (RR Software); N. Cohen (IBM); R. Dewar (NYU); G. Dismukes
(TeleSoft); A. Evans (consultant); A. Gargaro (Computer Sciences); M.
Gerhardt (ESL); J. Goodenough (SEI); S. Heilbrunner (University of Salzburg:
Austria); P. Hilfinger (UC/Berkeley); B. Källberg (CelsiusTech:
Sweden); M. Kamrad II (Unisys); J. van Katwijk (Delft University of Technology:
The Netherlands); V. Kaufman (Russia); P. Kruchten (Rational); R. Landwehr
(CCI: Germany); C. Lester (Portsmouth Polytechnic: UK); L. Månsson
(TELIA Research: Sweden); S. Michell (Multiprocessor Toolsmiths: Canada);
M. Mills (US Air Force); D. Pogge (US Navy); K. Power (Boeing); O. Roubine
(Verdix: France); A. Strohmeier (Swiss Fed Inst of Technology: Switzerland);
W. Taylor (consultant: UK); J. Tokar (Tartan); E. Vasilescu (Grumman);
J. Vladik (Prospeks s.r.o.: Czech Republic); S. Van Vlierberghe (OFFIS:
Belgium).
Other valuable feedback influencing the revision
process was provided by the Ada 9X Language Precision Team (Odyssey Research
Associates), the Ada 9X User/Implementer Teams (AETECH, Tartan, TeleSoft),
the Ada 9X Implementation Analysis Team (New York University) and the
Ada community-at-large.
Special thanks go to R. Mathis, Convenor of ISO/IEC
JTC 1/SC 22 Working Group 9.
The Ada 9X Project was sponsored by the Ada Joint
Program Office. Christine M. Anderson at the Air Force Phillips Laboratory
(Kirtland AFB, NM) was the project manager.
Acknowledgements
for the Corrigendum version
The editor [R. Brukardt (USA)] would like to thank
the many people whose hard work and assistance has made this update possible.
Thanks go out to all of the members of the ISO/IEC
JTC 1/SC 22/WG 9 Ada Rapporteur Group, whose work on creating and editing
the wording corrections was critical to the entire process. Especially
valuable contributions came from the chairman of the ARG, E. Ploedereder
(Germany), who kept the process moving; J. Barnes (UK) and K. Ishihata
(Japan), whose extremely detailed reviews kept the editor on his toes;
G. Dismukes (USA), M. Kamrad (USA), P. Leroy (France), S. Michell (Canada),
T. Taft (USA), J. Tokar (USA), and other members too numerous to mention.
Special thanks go to R. Duff (USA) for his explanations
of the previous system of formatting of these documents during the tedious
conversion to more modern formats. Special thanks also go to the convenor
of ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 22/WG 9, J. Moore (USA), without whose help and support
the Corrigendum and this consolidated reference manual would not have
been possible.
Acknowledgements
for the Amendment 1 version
The editor [R. Brukardt (USA)] would like to thank
the many people whose hard work and assistance has made this update possible.
Thanks go out to all of the members of the ISO/IEC
JTC 1/SC 22/WG 9 Ada Rapporteur Group, whose work on creating and editing
the wording corrections was critical to the entire process. Especially
valuable contributions came from the chairman of the ARG, P. Leroy (France),
who kept the process on schedule; J. Barnes (UK) whose careful reviews
found many typographical errors; T. Taft (USA), who always seemed to
have a suggestion when we were stuck, and who also was usually able to
provide the valuable service of explaining why things were as they are;
S. Baird (USA), who found many obscure problems with the proposals; and
A. Burns (UK), who pushed many of the real-time proposals to completion.
Other ARG members who contributed were: R. Dewar (USA), G. Dismukes (USA),
R. Duff (USA), K. Ishihata (Japan), S. Michell (Canada), E. Ploedereder
(Germany), J.P. Rosen (France), E. Schonberg (USA), J. Tokar (USA), and
T. Vardanega (Italy).
Special thanks go to Ada-Europe and the Ada Resource
Association, without whose help and support the Amendment and this consolidated
reference manual would not have been possible. M. Heaney (USA) requires
special thanks for his tireless work on the containers packages. Finally,
special thanks go to the convenor of ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 22/WG 9, J. Moore
(USA), who guided the document through the standardization process.
Acknowledgements
for the Ada 2012 edition
The editor [R. Brukardt (USA)] would like to thank
the many people whose hard work and assistance has made this revision
possible.
Thanks go out to all of the members of the ISO/IEC
JTC 1/SC 22/WG 9 Ada Rapporteur Group, whose work on creating and editing
the wording changes was critical to the entire process. Especially valuable
contributions came from the chairman of the ARG, E. Schonberg (USA),
who guided the work; T. Taft (USA), whose insights broke many logjams,
both in design and wording; J. Barnes (UK) whose careful reviews uncovered
many editorial errors; S. Baird (USA), who repeatedly found obscure interactions
with the proposals that the rest of us missed. Other ARG members who
substantially contributed were: A. Burns (UK), J. Cousins (UK), R. Dewar
(USA), G. Dismukes (USA), R. Duff (USA), P. Leroy (France), B. Moore
(Canada), E. Ploedereder (Germany), J.P. Rosen (France), B. Thomas (USA),
and T. Vardanega (Italy).
Special thanks go to Ada-Europe and the Ada Resource
Association, without whose help and support this third edition of the
Ada Standard would not have been possible. A special mention has to go
to A. Beneschan (USA) for his efforts in eliminating sloppiness in our
wording. M. Heaney (USA) also deserves a mention for his efforts to improve
the containers packages. Finally, special thanks go to the convenor of
ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 22/WG 9, J. Tokar (USA), who guided the document through
the standardization process.
Acknowledgements
for the Ada 2012 Corrigendum 1 version
The editor [R. Brukardt (USA)] would like to thank
the many people whose hard work and assistance has made this update possible.
Thanks go out to all of the members of the ISO/IEC
JTC 1/SC 22/WG 9 Ada Rapporteur Group, whose work on creating and editing
the wording changes was critical to the entire process. Especially valuable
contributions came from the chairman of the ARG, J. Cousins (UK), who
guided the work; T. Taft (USA), who seems to have the ability to cut
any Gordian knot we encounter in wording; J. Barnes (UK) who continues
to be able to find editorial errors invisible to most; S. Baird (USA),
who so frequently finds obscure interactions that we now have named such
things for him. Other ARG members who substantially contributed were:
A. Burns (UK), R. Dewar (USA), G. Dismukes (USA), R. Duff (USA), B. Moore
(Canada), E. Ploedereder (Germany), J.P. Rosen (France), E. Schonberg
(USA), and T. Vardanega (Italy).
Finally, special thanks go to the convenor of
ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 22/WG 9, J. Tokar (USA), who guided the document through
the standardization process.
Acknowledgements
for the Ada 2022 version
The editor [R. Brukardt] would like to thank the
many people whose hard work and assistance has made this revision possible.
Thanks go out to all of the members of the ISO/IEC
JTC 1/SC 22/WG 9 Ada Rapporteur Group, whose work in all steps of the
process, from determining problems to address, reviewing feature designs,
and creating and editing wording changes, was critical to the entire
process. Especially valuable contributions came from the chairman of
the ARG through June 2018, J. Cousins, who guided the work and ensured
we followed defined procedures; his replacement as chairman, S. Baird,
who ably powered through obstacles to complete the work while continuing
to find obscure interactions; T. Taft, who often solved difficult problems
that had stumped others; B. Moore, whose frequent suggestions for parallel
constructs greatly improved the result. Other ARG members who substantially
contributed were: R. Amiard, J. Barnes, A. Burns, A. Charlet, G. Dismukes,
C. Dross, R. Duff, E. Fish, E. Ploedereder, J.P. Rosen, F. Schanda,
E. Schonberg, J. Squirek, T. Vardanega, and R. Wai.
Finally, special thanks go to the convenor of
ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 22/WG 9, P. Rogers, who guided the document through
the standardization process.
Acknowledgements
for the Ada 202y version
The editor [R. Brukardt]
would like to thank the many people whose hard work and assistance has
made this update possible.
Thanks go out to all of
the members of the ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 22/WG 9 Ada Rapporteur Group, whose
work in all steps of the process, from determining problems to address,
reviewing feature designs, and creating and editing wording changes,
was critical to the entire process.
Using
this version of the Ada Reference Manual
This document has been revised with changes
for Ada 202y the corrections specified in
Technical Corrigendum 1 for Ada 2012 (which corresponds to ISO/IEC 8652:2012/COR.1:2016)
and other changes specifically for this fourth edition. In addition,
more annotations have been added and a variety of editorial errors have
been corrected.
Changes to the original 1995 version of the Annotated
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with a version number of /3 were changed by the 2012 edition of the AARM
(including additional editorial corrections). Paragraphs with a version
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were editorial corrections at that time. Paragraphs with a version number
of /5 were changed by the 2022 edition of the AARM (including additional
editorial corrections). Paragraphs with a version
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