Package Bodies
Author: JTC1/SC22/WG9/ARG, by Randall Brukardt, ARG Editor

Contents Index Search Previous Next

# 7.2 Package Bodies

1
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

2
package_body ::=
package body defining_program_unit_name is
declarative_part
[begin
handled_sequence_of_statements]
end [[parent_unit_name.]identifier];
3
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

4
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; pragma Elaborate_Body can be used to require a library_unit_declaration to have a body (see 10.2.1) if it would not otherwise require one.

#### Static Semantics

5
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 Section 10).)

#### Dynamic Semantics

6
For the elaboration of a nongeneric package_body, its declarative_part is first elaborated, and its handled_sequence_of_statements is then executed.
NOTES
7
3 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.
8
4 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

9
Example of a package body (see 7.1):
10
`package body Rational_Numbers is`
11
`procedure Same_Denominator (X,Y : in out Rational) is
begin
-- reduces X and Y to the same denominator:
...
end Same_Denominator;`
12
`function "="(X,Y : Rational) return Boolean is
U : Rational := X;
V : Rational := Y;
begin
Same_Denominator (U,V);
return U.Numerator = V.Numerator;
end "=";`
13
`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 "/";`
14
`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 "/";`
15
`end Rational_Numbers;`

Contents Index Search Previous Next Legal