Ada Reference Manual (Ada 2022) — Legal Information

# 10.1.4 The Compilation Process

1
Each compilation unit submitted to the compiler is compiled in the context of an environment declarative_part (or simply, an environment), which is a conceptual declarative_part that forms the outermost declarative region of the context of any compilation. At run time, an environment forms the declarative_part of the body of the environment task of a partition (see 10.2, “Program Execution”).
2/5
The declarative_items of the environment are library_items appearing in an order such that there are no forward semantic dependences. Each included subunit occurs in place of the corresponding stub. The visibility rules apply as if the environment were the outermost declarative region, except that with_clauses are necessary to make declarations of library units visible (see 10.1.2).
3/2
The mechanisms for creating an environment and for adding and replacing compilation units within an environment are implementation defined. The mechanisms for adding a compilation unit mentioned in a limited_with_clause to an environment are implementation defined.

#### Name Resolution Rules

4/3
If a library_unit_body that is a subprogram_body is submitted to the compiler, it is interpreted only as a completion if a library_unit_declaration with the same defining_program_unit_name already exists in the environment for a subprogram other than an instance of a generic subprogram or for a generic subprogram (even if the profile of the body is not type conformant with that of the declaration); otherwise, the subprogram_body is interpreted as both the declaration and body of a library subprogram.

#### Legality Rules

5
When a compilation unit is compiled, all compilation units upon which it depends semantically shall already exist in the environment; the set of these compilation units shall be consistent in the sense that the new compilation unit shall not semantically depend (directly or indirectly) on two different versions of the same compilation unit, nor on an earlier version of itself.

#### Implementation Permissions

6/2
The implementation may require that a compilation unit be legal before it can be mentioned in a limited_with_clause or it can be inserted into the environment.
7/3
When a compilation unit that declares or renames a library unit is added to the environment, the implementation may remove from the environment any preexisting library_item or subunit with the same full expanded name. When a compilation unit that is a subunit or the body of a library unit is added to the environment, the implementation may remove from the environment any preexisting version of the same compilation unit. When a compilation unit that contains a body_stub is added to the environment, the implementation may remove any preexisting library_item or subunit with the same full expanded name as the body_stub. When a given compilation unit is removed from the environment, the implementation may also remove any compilation unit that depends semantically upon the given one. If the given compilation unit contains the body of a subprogram for which aspect Inline is True, the implementation may also remove any compilation unit containing a call to that subprogram.
8
NOTE 1 The rules of the language are enforced across compilation and compilation unit boundaries, just as they are enforced within a single compilation unit.
9/5
NOTE 2 An implementation can support a concept of a library, which contains library_items. If multiple libraries are supported, the implementation can document how a single environment is constructed when a compilation unit is submitted to the compiler. Naming conflicts between different libraries can, for example, be resolved by treating each library as the root of a hierarchy of child library units.
10
NOTE 3 A compilation unit containing an instantiation of a separately compiled generic unit does not semantically depend on the body of the generic unit. Therefore, replacing the generic body in the environment does not result in the removal of the compilation unit containing the instantiation.

Ada 2005 and 2012 Editions sponsored in part by Ada-Europe