Package Bodies

[In contrast to the entities declared in the visible part of a package, the entities declared in the package_body are visible only within the package_body itself. As a consequence, a package with a package_body can be used for the construction of a group of related subprograms in which the logical operations available to clients are clearly isolated from the internal entities.]

Syntax

If an identifier or parent_unit_name.identifier appears at the end of a package_body, then this sequence of lexical elements shall repeat the defining_program_unit_name.

Legality Rules

{AI12-0417-1} A package_body shall be the completion of a previous package_declaration or generic_package_declaration. A library package_declaration or library generic_package_declaration shall not have a body unless it requires a body[; the Elaborate_Body aspect can be used to require a library_unit_declaration to have a body (see 10.2.1) if it would not otherwise require one].

Ramification: The first part of the rule forbids a package_body from standing alone — it has to belong to some previous package_declaration or generic_package_declaration.

A nonlibrary package_declaration or nonlibrary generic_package_declaration that does not require a completion may have a corresponding body anyway.

Static Semantics

In any package_body without statements there is an implicit null_statement. For any package_declaration without an explicit completion, there is an implicit package_body containing a single null_statement. For a noninstance, nonlibrary package, this body occurs at the end of the declarative_part of the innermost enclosing program unit or block_statement; if there are several such packages, the order of the implicit package_bodies is unspecified. [(For an instance, the implicit package_body occurs at the place of the instantiation (see 12.3). For a library package, the place is partially determined by the elaboration dependences (see Clause 10).)]

Discussion: Thus, for example, we can refer to something happening just after the begin of a package_body, and we can refer to the handled_sequence_of_statements of a package_body, without worrying about all the optional pieces. The place of the implicit body makes a difference for tasks activated by the package. See also RM83-9.3(5).

The implicit body would be illegal if explicit in the case of a library package that does not require (and therefore does not allow) a body. This is a bit strange, but not harmful.

Dynamic Semantics

For the elaboration of a nongeneric package_body, its declarative_part is first elaborated, and its handled_sequence_of_statements is then executed.

NOTE 1 A variable declared in the body of a package is only visible within this body and, consequently, its value can only be changed within the package_body. In the absence of local tasks, the value of such a variable remains unchanged between calls issued from outside the package to subprograms declared in the visible part. The properties of such a variable are similar to those of a “static” variable of C.

NOTE 2 The elaboration of the body of a subprogram explicitly declared in the visible part of a package is caused by the elaboration of the body of the package. Hence a call of such a subprogram by an outside program unit raises the exception Program_Error if the call takes place before the elaboration of the package_body (see 3.11).

Examples

Example of a package body (see 7.1):

   procedure Same_Denominator (X,Y : in out Rational) is
   begin
      --  reduces X and Y to the same denominator:
      ...
   end Same_Denominator;

   function "="(X,Y : Rational) return Boolean is
      U : Rational := X;
      V : Rational := Y;
   begin
      Same_Denominator (U,V);
      return U.Numerator = V.Numerator;
   end "=";

   function "/" (X,Y : Integer) return Rational is
   begin
      if Y > 0 then
         return (Numerator => X,  Denominator => Y);
      else
         return (Numerator => -X, Denominator => -Y);
      end if;
   end "/";

   function "+" (X,Y : Rational) return Rational is ... end "+";
   function "-" (X,Y : Rational) return Rational is ... end "-";
   function "*" (X,Y : Rational) return Rational is ... end "*";
   function "/" (X,Y : Rational) return Rational is ... end "/";

Wording Changes from Ada 83

The declarative_part of a package_body is now required; that doesn't make any real difference, since a declarative_part can be empty.

RM83 seems to have forgotten to say that a package_body can't stand alone, without a previous declaration. We state that rule here.