7. Packages

Verification Rules

  1. The elaboration of a package shall not update, directly or indirectly, a reachable part (see Access Types) of a variable that is not declared immediately within the package. [Roughly speaking, this means that the outputs of the notional spec and body elaboration subprograms shall all be objects declared immediately within the package.]

  2. The elaboration of a package declaration or body shall not leave any object in the Moved state unless the object was already in the Moved state at the start of that elaboration.

7.1. Package Specifications and Declarations

7.1.1. Abstraction of State

The variables declared within a package but not within a subprogram body or block which does not also enclose the given package constitute the persistent state of the package. A package’s persistent state is divided into visible state and hidden state. If a declaration that is part of a package’s persistent state is visible outside of the package, then it is a constituent of the package’s visible state; otherwise it is a constituent of the package’s hidden state.

Though the variables may be hidden they still form part (or all) of the persistent state of the package and the hidden state cannot be ignored. State abstraction is the means by which this hidden state is represented and managed. A state abstraction represents one or more declarations which are part of the hidden state of a package.

SPARK extends the concept of state abstraction to provide hierarchical data abstraction whereby the state abstraction declared in a package may contain the persistent state of other packages given certain restrictions described in Abstract_State, Package Hierarchy and Part_Of. This provides data refinement similar to the refinement available to types whereby a record may contain fields which are themselves records.

Static Semantics

  1. The visible state of a package P consists of:

    • any variables, stand-alone constants of access-to-variable type, or constants with variable inputs, declared immediately within the visible part of package P; and

    • the state abstractions declared by the Abstract_State aspect specification (if any) of package P; and

    • the visible state of any packages declared immediately within the visible part of package P.

  2. The hidden state of a package P consists of:

    • any variables, stand-alone constants of named access-to-variable type, or constants with variable inputs, declared immediately in the private part or body of P; and

    • the visible state of any packages declared immediately within the private part or body of P.

  3. The preceding two rules notwithstanding, an object or state abstraction whose Part_Of aspect refers to a task or protected unit is not (directly) part of the visible state or hidden state of any package (see section Tasks and Synchronization).

7.1.2. External State

External state is a state abstraction or variable representing something external to a program. For instance, an input or output device, or a communication channel to another subsystem such as another SPARK program.

Updating external state might have some external effect. It could be writing a value to be read by some external device or subsystem which then has a potential effect on that device or subsystem. Similarly the value read from an external state might depend on a value provided by some external device or subsystem.

Ada uses the terms external readers and writers to describe entities external to a program which interact with the program through reading and writing data. Of particular concern to SPARK are external readers and writers which are not strictly under control of the program. It is not known precisely when a value will be written or read by an external reader or writer. These are called asynchronous readers and asynchronous writers in SPARK.

Each read or update of an external state might be significant, for instance reading or writing a stream of characters to a file, or individual reads or writes might not be significant, for instance reading a temperature from a device or writing the same value to a lamp driver or display. SPARK provides a mechanism to indicate whether a read or write is always significant.

A type is said to be effectively volatile if it is either a volatile type, an array type whose Volatile_Components aspect is True, an array type whose component type is effectively volatile, a record type for which all components have an effectively volatile type, a protected type, or a descendant of the type Ada.Synchronous_Task_Control.Suspension_Object.

An effectively volatile type is said to be effectively volatile for reading if it is either a volatile type with the properties Async_Writers or Effective_Reads set to True (as described below), an array type whose Volatile_Components aspect is True unless the array type has the properties Async_Writers and Effective_Reads set to False (as described below), an array type whose component type is effectively volatile for reading, a record type for which at least one component has an effectively volatile type for reading, a protected type, or a descendant of the type Ada.Synchronous_Task_Control.Suspension_Object.

A nonvolatile protected type is said to be nonvolatile during a protected action if none of its subcomponent types are effectively volatile. [In other words, if the only reason that the protected type is effectively volatile is because it is protected.]

An effectively volatile object is a volatile object, or an object of an effectively volatile type. An effectively volatile object for reading is a volatile object with the properties Async_Writers or Effective_Reads set to True, or an object of an effectively volatile type for reading. [An effectively volatile object for reading is also an effectively volatile object.] There are three exceptions to these rules:

  • the current instance of a protected unit whose (protected) type is nonvolatile during a protected action is, by definition, not an effectively volatile object. [This exception reflects the fact that the current instance cannot be referenced in contexts where unsynchronized updates are possible. This means, for example, that the Global aspect of a nonvolatile function which is declared inside of a protected operation may reference the current instance of the protected unit.]

  • a constant object associated with the evaluation of a function call, an aggregate, or a type conversion is, by definition, not an effectively volatile object. [See Ada RM 4.6 for the rules about when a type conversion introduces a new object; in cases where it is unspecified whether a new object is created, we assume (for purposes of the rules in this section) that no new object is created].

  • the property No_Caching can be specified on a volatile object or on its volatile type, to express that such a variable can be analyzed as not volatile in SPARK, but that the compiler should not cache its value between accesses to the object (e.g. as a defense against fault injection). Such an object is not an effectively volatile object.

External state is an effectively volatile object or a state abstraction which represents one or more effectively volatile objects (or it could be a null state abstraction; see Abstract_State Aspects). [The term “external” does not necessarily mean that this state is accessed outside of the SPARK portion of the program (although it might be); it refers to the state being potentially visible to multiple tasks (as well as to the outside world), so that it is externally visible from the perspective of any one task.]

Four Boolean valued properties of external states that may be specified are defined:

  • Async_Readers - a component of the system external to the program might read/consume a value written to an external state.

  • Async_Writers - a component of the system external to the program might update the value of an external state.

  • Effective_Writes - every update of the external state is significant.

  • Effective_Reads - every read of the external state is significant.

These properties may be specified for an effectively volatile object as Boolean aspects or as external properties of an external state abstraction.

The Boolean aspect Volatile_Function may be specified as part of the (explicit) initial declaration of a function. A function whose Volatile_Function aspect is True is said to be a volatile function. Volatile functions can read effectively volatile objects for reading; nonvolatile functions cannot [but they can read other effectively volatile objects]. However note that the rule that a function must not have any output other than its result still applies; in effect this bans a volatile function from reading an object with Effective_Reads => True, unless it is a function with side effects (see section Functions With Side Effects). As a result, calling a volatile function is considered as having an effect, and such calls are only allowed in certain contexts (see External State - Variables and Types). A protected function is also defined to be a volatile function, as is a function with side effects (see section Functions With Side Effects) and an instance of Unchecked_Conversion where one or both of the actual Source and Target types are effectively volatile types for reading. [Unlike nonvolatile functions, two calls to a volatile function with all inputs equal need not return the same result.]

A protected function whose corresponding protected type is nonvolatile during a protected action and whose Volatile_Function aspect is False is said to be nonvolatile for internal calls.

Legality Rules

  1. If an external state is declared without any of the external properties specified then all of the external properties [i.e. except No_Caching] default to a value of True.

  2. If just the name of the property is given then its value defaults to True [for instance Async_Readers defaults to Async_Readers => True].

  3. A property may be explicitly given the value False [for instance Async_Readers => False].

  4. If any one property is explicitly defined, all undefined properties default to a value of False.

  5. The expression defining the Boolean valued property shall be static.

  6. Only the following combinations of properties are valid:

    Async_Readers

    Async_Writers

    Effective_Writes

    Effective_Reads

    No_Caching

    True

    True

    True

    True

    True

    True

    True

    True

    True

    True

    True

    True

    True

    True

    True

    True

    True

    True

    True

    [Another way of expressing this rule is that No_Caching is incompatible with the four external properties, that Effective_Reads can only be True if Async_Writers is True and Effective_Writes can only be True if Async_Readers is True.]

Static Semantics

  1. Every update of an external state is considered to be read by some external reader if Async_Readers => True.

  2. Each successive read of an external state might have a different value [written by some external writer] if Async_Writers => True.

  3. If Effective_Writes => True, then every value written to the external state is significant. [For instance writing a sequence of values to a port.]

  4. If Effective_Reads => True, then every value read from the external state is significant. [For example a value read from a port might be used in determining how the next value is processed.]

  5. Each update of an external state has no external effect if both Async_Readers => False and Effective_Writes => False.

  6. Each successive read of an external state will result in the last value explicitly written [by the program] if Async_Writers => False.

  7. Every explicit update of an external state might affect the next value read from the external state even if Async_Writers => True.

  8. An external state which has the property Async_Writers => True need not be initialized before being read although explicit initialization is permitted. [The external state might be initialized by an external writer.]

  9. A subprogram whose Volatile_Function aspect is True shall not override an inherited primitive operation of a tagged type whose Volatile_Function aspect is False. [The reverse is allowed.]

  10. A subprogram whose Side_Effects aspect is True shall not override an inherited primitive operation of a tagged type whose Side_Effects aspect is False. [The reverse is allowed.]

  11. A protected object has at least the properties Async_Writers => True and Async_Readers => True. If and only if it has at least one Part_Of component with Effective_Writes => True or Effective_Reads => True, then the protected object also carries this property. [This is particularly relevant if a protected object is a constituent of an external state, or if a protected object is an input of a volatile function.]

7.1.3. External State - Variables and Types

In Ada interfacing to an external device or subsystem normally entails using one or more effectively volatile objects to ensure that writes and reads to the device are not optimized by the compiler into internal register reads and writes.

SPARK refines the specification of volatility by introducing four new Boolean aspects which may be applied only to effectively volatile objects or to volatile types. The aspects may be specified in the aspect specification of an object declaration (this effectively excludes volatile objects that are formal parameters, but allows such aspect specifications for generic formal objects) or of a type declaration (including a formal_type_declaration).

The new aspects are:

These four aspects are said to be the volatility refinement aspects. Ada’s notion of volatility corresponds to the case where all four aspects are True. Specifying a volatility refinement aspect value of False for an object or type grants permission for the SPARK implementation to make additional assumptions about how the object in question (or, respectively, about how an object of the type in question) is accessed; it is the responsibility of the user to ensure that these assumptions hold. In contrast, specifying a value of True imposes no such obligation on the user.

For example, consider

X : Integer with Volatile, Async_Readers => True, Async_Writers => False,
                           Effective_Reads => True, Effective_Writes => True;
...
procedure Proc with ... is
  Y : Integer;
begin
  X := 0;
  Y := X;
  pragma Assert (Y = 0);
end Proc;

The verification condition associated with the assertion can be successfully discharged but this success depends on the Async_Writers aspect specification.

The volatility refinement aspects of types (as opposed to those of objects) are type related representation aspects. The value of a given volatility refinement aspect of a volatile type is determined as follows:

  • if the aspect’s value is explicitly specified, then it is the specified value;

  • otherwise, if the type is a derived type whose parent type is volatile then the aspect value is inherited from the parent type;

  • otherwise, if at least one other volatility refinement aspect is explicitly specified for the type then the given aspect of the type is implicitly specified to be False;

  • otherwise, the given aspect of the type is implicitly specified to be True.

[This is similar to the rules for external state abstractions, except that there is no notion of inheritance in that case.]

The value of a given volatility refinement aspect of an effectively volatile object is determined as follows:

  • if the object is a reachable part (see Access Types) of a stand-alone object or of a formal parameter but is not itself such an object, then it is the value of the given aspect of that object.

  • otherwise, if the object is declared by an object declaration and the given aspect is explicitly specified for the object declaration then it is the specified value;

  • otherwise, if the object is declared by an object declaration and then at least one other volatility refinement aspect is explicitly specified for the object declaration then the given aspect of the object is implicitly specified to be False;

  • otherwise, it is the value of the given aspect of the type of the object.

Given two entities (each either an object or a type) E1 and E2, E1 is said to be compatible with respect to volatility with E2 if

  • E1 is not effectively volatile; or

  • both E1 and E2 are effectively volatile and each of the four volatility refinement aspects is either False for E1 or True for E2.

Legality Rules

  1. Any specified value for a volatility refinement aspect shall be static.

    [If a volatility refinement aspect of a derived type is inherited from an ancestor type and has the boolean value True, the inherited value shall not be overridden to have the value False for the derived type. This follows from the corresponding Ada RM 13.1.1 rule and is stated here only to clarify the point that there is no exception to that rule for volatility refinement aspects. This is consistent with Ada’s treatment of the Volatile aspect.]

  2. The value of a volatility refinement aspect shall only be specified for an effectively volatile stand-alone object or for an effectively volatile type (which may be a formal type). [A formal parameter is not a stand-alone object; see Ada RM 3.3.1.] If specified for a stand-alone object, the declared object shall be compatible with respect to volatility with its type.

  3. The declaration of an effectively volatile stand-alone object or type shall be a library-level declaration. [In particular, it shall not be declared within a subprogram.]

  4. A discriminant or a loop parameter shall not be effectively volatile.

  5. An effectively volatile type other than a protected type shall not have a discriminated part.

  6. A component type of a composite type shall be compatible with respect to volatility with the composite type. Similarly, the [full view of] the designated type of a named nonderived access type shall be compatible with respect to volatility with the access type.

  7. A global_item of a nonvolatile function, or of a function which is nonvolatile for internal calls, shall not denote either an effectively volatile object for reading or an external state abstraction which has the property Async_Writers => True or Effective_Reads => True.

  8. A formal parameter (or result) of a nonvolatile function, or of a function which is nonvolatile for internal calls, shall not be of an effectively volatile type for reading. [For a protected function, this rule does not apply to the notional parameter denoting the current instance of the associated protected unit described in section Global Aspects.]

  1. Contrary to the general SPARK rule that expression evaluation cannot have side effects, a read of an effectively volatile object for reading is considered to have a side effect. To reconcile this discrepancy, a name denoting such an object shall only occur in a non-interfering context. A name occurs in a non-interfering context if it is:

    • the name on the left-hand side of an assignment statement; or

    • the [right-hand side] expression of an assignment statement; or

    • the initialization expression of an object declaration which does not occur inside a declare expression; or

    • the object_name of an object_renaming_declaration; or

    • the actual parameter in a call to an instance of Unchecked_Conversion whose result is renamed [in an object renaming declaration]; or

    • an actual parameter in a call for which the corresponding formal parameter is of a non-scalar effectively volatile type for reading; or

    • the (protected) prefix of a name denoting a protected operation; or

    • the return expression of a simple_return_statement which applies to a volatile function; or

    • the expression of the extended_return_object_declaration which applies to a volatile function; or

    • the prefix of a slice, selected_component, indexed_component, or attribute_reference which is itself a name occurring in a non-interfering context; or

    • the prefix of an attribute_reference whose attribute_designator is either Address, Alignment, Component_Size, First, First_Bit, Last, Last_Bit, Length, Position, Size, or Storage_Size; or

    • the expression of a type conversion, a qualified expression or a parenthesized expression occurring in a non-interfering context; or

    • the expression in a delay_statement.

    [The attributes listed above all have the property that when their prefix denotes an object, evaluation of the attribute does not involve the evaluation of any part ot the object.]

    The same restrictions also apply to a call to a volatile function (except not in the case of an internal call to a protected function which is nonvolatile for internal calls) and to the evaluation of any attribute which is defined to introduce an implicit dependency on a volatile state abstraction [(these are the Callable, Caller, Count, and Terminated attributes; see section Tasks and Synchronization)]. [An internal call to a protected function is treated like a call to a nonvolatile function if the function’s Volatile_Function aspect is False.]

  2. A user-defined primitive equality operation on a record type shall not be a volatile function, unless the record type has only limited views (see Overloading of Operators).

    [This avoids the case where such a record type is a component of another composite type, whose predefined equality operation now calls a volatile function through the primitive equality operation on its component.]

Dynamic Semantics

  1. There are no dynamic semantics associated with these aspects.

Verification Rules

  1. An effectively volatile for reading formal parameter of mode out whose Async_Writers aspect is True shall not be read, even after it has been updated.

Examples

 1with System.Storage_Elements;
 2
 3package Input_Port
 4  with SPARK_Mode
 5is
 6   Sensor : Integer
 7     with Volatile,
 8          Async_Writers,
 9          Address => System.Storage_Elements.To_Address (16#ACECAF0#);
10end Input_Port;
 1with System.Storage_Elements;
 2
 3package Output_Port
 4  with SPARK_Mode
 5is
 6   Sensor : Integer
 7     with Volatile,
 8          Async_Readers,
 9          Address => System.Storage_Elements.To_Address (16#ACECAF0#);
10end Output_Port;

7.1.4. Abstract_State Aspects

State abstraction provides a mechanism for naming, in a package’s visible part, state (typically a collection of variables) that will be declared within the package’s body (its hidden state). For example, a package declares a visible procedure and we wish to specify the set of global variables that the procedure reads and writes as part of the specification of the subprogram. The variables declared in the package body cannot be named directly in the package specification. Instead, we introduce a state abstraction which is visible in the package specification and later, when the package body is declared, we specify the set of variables that constitute or implement the state abstraction.

If immediately within a package body, for example, a nested package is declared, then a state abstraction of the inner package may also be part of the implementation of the given state abstraction of the outer package.

The hidden state of a package may be represented by one or more state abstractions, with each pair of state abstractions representing disjoint sets of hidden variables.

If a subprogram P with a Global aspect is declared in the visible part of a package and P reads or updates any of the hidden state of the package then the state abstractions shall be denoted by P. If P has a Depends aspect then the state abstractions shall be denoted as inputs and outputs of P, as appropriate, in the dependency_relation of the Depends aspect.

SPARK facilitates the specification of a hierarchy of state abstractions by allowing a single state abstraction to contain visible declarations of package declarations nested immediately within the body of a package, private child or private sibling units and descendants thereof. Each visible state abstraction or variable of a private child or descendant thereof has to be specified as being part of a state abstraction of its parent or a public descendant of its parent.

The Abstract_State aspect is introduced by an aspect_specification where the aspect_mark is Abstract_State and the aspect_definition shall follow the grammar of abstract_state_list given below.

Syntax

abstract_state_list      ::= null
                           | state_name_with_options
                           | ( state_name_with_options { , state_name_with_options } )
state_name_with_options  ::= state_name
                           | ( state_name with option_list )
option_list              ::= option { , option }
option                   ::= simple_option
                           | name_value_option
simple_option            ::= Ghost | Synchronous
name_value_option        ::= Part_Of => abstract_state
                           | External [=> external_property_list]
external_property_list   ::= external_property
                           | ( external_property {, external_property} )
external_property        ::= Async_Readers [=> expression]
                           | Async_Writers [=> expression]
                           | Effective_Writes [=> expression]
                           | Effective_Reads  [=> expression]
                           | others => expression
state_name               ::= defining_identifier
abstract_state           ::= name

Legality Rules

  1. An option shall not be repeated within a single option_list.

  2. If External is specified in an option_list then there shall be at most one occurrence of each of Async_Readers, Async_Writers, Effective_Writes and Effective_Reads.

  3. If an option_list contains one or more name_value_option items then they shall be the final options in the list. [This eliminates the possibility of a positional association following a named association in the property list.]

  4. A package_declaration or generic_package_declaration that contains a non-null Abstract_State aspect mentioned in a Part_Of specification shall have a completion (i.e., a body).

    [This rule ensures that the abstract state can have a corresponding state refinement in the body. In cases where the package does not have a completion, the abstract state has no constituents. See State Refinement.]

    [Ada RM 7.1’s rule defining when a package “requires a completion” is unaffected by the presence of an Abstract_State aspect specification; such an aspect spec does not cause a package to “require a completion”. This rule therefore implies that if an Abstract_State aspect specification occurs anywhere within the specification of a library unit package or generic package, then that library unit is going to have to contain a basic_declarative_item that requires a completion (or have an Elaborate_Body pragma) because otherwise it would be impossible to simultaneously satisfy this rule and Ada’s rule that a library unit cannot have a package body unless it is required (Ada RM 7.2(4)). One could imagine a simpler rule that an Abstract_State aspect specification causes a package to “require a completion”, but we want a SPARK program with its SPARK aspects removed (or ignored) to remain a legal Ada program.]

Static Semantics

  1. Each state_name occurring in an Abstract_State aspect specification for a given package P introduces an implicit declaration of a state abstraction entity. This implicit declaration occurs at the beginning of the visible part of P. This implicit declaration shall have a completion and is overloadable.

    [The declaration of a state abstraction has the same visibility as any other declaration but a state abstraction shall only be named in contexts where this is explicitly permitted (e.g., as part of a Global aspect specification). A state abstraction is not an object; it does not have a type. The completion of a state abstraction declared in a package aspect_specification can only be provided as part of a Refined_State aspect_specification within the body of the package.]

  2. A null abstract_state_list specifies that a package contains no hidden state.

  3. An External state abstraction is one declared with an option_list that includes the External option (see External State).

  4. If a state abstraction which is declared with an option_list that includes a Part_Of name_value_option whose name denote a state abstraction, this indicates that it is a constituent (see State Refinement) of the denoted state abstraction. [Alternatively, the name may denote a task or protected unit (see section Tasks and Synchronization).]

  5. A state abstraction for which the simple_option Ghost is specified is said to be a ghost state abstraction. A state abstraction for which the simple_option Synchronous is specified is said to be a synchronized state abstraction. [The option name “Synchronous” is used instead of “Synchronized” to avoid unnecessary complications associated with the use of an Ada reserved word.] Every synchronized state abstraction is also (by definition) an external state abstraction. A synchronized state abstraction for which the simple_option External is not (explicitly) specified has (by definition) its Async_Readers and Async_Writers aspects specified to be True and its Effective_Writes and Effective_Reads aspects specified to be False.

Dynamic Semantics

There are no dynamic semantics associated with the Abstract_State aspect.

Verification Rules

There are no verification rules associated with the Abstract_State aspect.

Examples

 1package Simple_Abstract_State
 2  with Abstract_State => State         -- Declaration of abstract state named State
 3                                       -- representing internal state of the package.
 4is
 5   function Is_Ready return Boolean    -- Function checking some property of the State.
 6     with Global => State;             -- State may be used in a Global aspect.
 7
 8
 9   procedure Init                      -- Procedure to initialize the internal state of the package.
10     with Global => (Output => State), -- State may be used in a Global aspect.
11          Post   => Is_Ready;
12
13   procedure Op (V : Integer)          -- Another procedure providing some operation on State
14     with Global => (In_Out => State),
15          Pre    => Is_Ready,
16          Post   => Is_Ready;
17
18end Simple_Abstract_State;
 1package Complex_Abstract_State
 2  with Abstract_State => (A,
 3                          B,
 4                          (C with External => (Async_Writers,
 5                                               Effective_Reads => False)))
 6                          --  Three abstract state names are declared A, B & C.
 7                          --  A and B are internal abstract states.
 8                          --  C is specified as external state which is an external input.
 9is
10   procedure Init;
11end Complex_Abstract_State;

7.1.5. Initializes Aspects

The Initializes aspect specifies the visible variables and state abstractions of a package that are initialized by the elaboration of the package. In SPARK a package shall only initialize variables declared immediately within the package.

If the initialization of a variable or state abstraction, V, during the elaboration of a package, P, is dependent on the value of a visible variable or state abstraction from another package, then this entity shall be denoted in the input list associated with V in the Initializes aspect of P.

The Initializes aspect is introduced by an aspect_specification where the aspect_mark is Initializes and the aspect_definition shall follow the grammar of initialization_spec given below.

Syntax

initialization_spec ::= initialization_list
                      | null

initialization_list ::= initialization_item
                      | ( initialization_item { , initialization_item } )

initialization_item ::= name [ => input_list]

Legality Rules

  1. An Initializes aspect shall only appear in the aspect_specification of a package_specification.

  2. The name of each initialization_item in the Initializes aspect definition for a package shall denote a state abstraction of the package or an entire object declared immediately within the visible part of the package. [For purposes of this rule, formal parameters of a generic package are not considered to be “declared in the package”.]

  3. Each name in the input_list shall denote an object, or a state abstraction but shall not denote an entity declared in the package with the aspect_specification containing the Initializes aspect.

  4. Each entity in a single input_list shall be distinct. Additionally, if an entity is a state abstraction, none of its constituents shall appear as an entity in the same input_list.

  5. An initialization_item with a null input_list is equivalent to the same initialization_item without an input_list. [That is Initializes => (A => null) is equivalent to Initializes => A.]

Static Semantics

  1. The Initializes aspect of a package has visibility of the declarations occurring immediately within the visible part of the package.

  2. The Initializes aspect of a package specification asserts which state abstractions and visible variables of the package are initialized by the elaboration of the package, both its specification and body, and any units which have state abstractions or variable declarations that are part (constituents) of a state abstraction declared by the package. [A package with a null initialization_list, or no Initializes aspect does not initialize any of its state abstractions or variables.]

  3. An initialization_item shall have an input_list if and only if its initialization is dependent on visible variables and state abstractions not declared within the package containing the Initializes aspect. Then the names in the input_list shall denote variables and state abstractions which are used in determining the initial value of the state abstraction or variable denoted by the name of the initialization_item but are not constituents of the state abstraction.

Dynamic Semantics

There are no dynamic semantics associated with the Initializes aspect.

Verification Rules

  1. If the Initializes aspect is specified for a package, then after the body (which may be implicit if the package has no explicit body) has completed its elaboration, every (entire) variable and state abstraction denoted by a name in the Initializes aspect shall be initialized. A state abstraction is said to be initialized if all of its constituents are initialized. An entire variable is initialized if all of its components are initialized. Other parts of the visible state of the package shall not be initialized.

  2. If an initialization_item has an input_list then the variables and state abstractions denoted in the input list shall be used in determining the initialized value of the entity denoted by the name of the initialization_item.

  3. All variables and state abstractions which are not declared within the package but are used in the initialization of an initialization_item shall appear in an input_list of the initialization_item.

  4. Any initialization_item that is a constant shall be a constant with variable input. Any entity in an input_list that is a constant shall be a parameter or constant with variable input.

  5. Where the refinement of a state abstraction is not visible (see State Refinement) and a package references one or more of its constituents, the constituents may be represented by a global_item that denotes the state abstraction in the initialization_spec of the package. [The state abstraction encapsulating a constituent is known from the Part_Of indicator on the declaration of the constituent.]

[Note: these rules allow a variable or state abstraction to be initialized by the elaboration of a package but not be denoted in an Initializes aspect. In such a case the analysis tools will treat the variable or state abstraction as uninitialized when analyzing clients of the package.]

Examples

1package Q
2  with Abstract_State => State,        -- Declaration of abstract state name State
3       Initializes    => (State,       -- Indicates that State
4                          Visible_Var) -- and Visible_Var will be initialized
5                                       -- during the elaboration of Q.
6is
7   Visible_Var : Integer;
8   ...
9end Q;
 1with Q;
 2package R
 3  with Abstract_State => S1,                   -- Declaration of abstract state name S1
 4       Initializes    => (S1 => Q.State,       -- Indicates that S1 will be initialized
 5                                               -- dependent on the value of Q.State
 6                          X  => Q.Visible_Var) -- and X dependent on Q.Visible_Var
 7                                               -- during the elaboration of R.
 8is
 9   X : Integer := Q.Visible_Var;
10   ...
11end R;
 1package Y
 2  with Abstract_State => (A, B, (C with External => (Async_Writers, Effective_Reads))),
 3       --  Three abstract state names are declared A, B & C
 4       Initializes    => A
 5       --  A is initialized during the elaboration of Y.
 6       --  C is specified as external state with Async_Writers
 7       --  and need not be explicitly initialized.
 8       --  B is not initialized.
 9is
10   ...
11end Y;
1package Z
2  with Abstract_State => A,
3       Initializes    => null
4       --  Package Z has an abstract state name A declared but the
5       --  elaboration of Z and its private descendants do not
6       --  perform any initialization during elaboration.
7is
8   ...
9end Z;

7.1.6. Initial_Condition Aspects

The Initial_Condition aspect is introduced by an aspect_specification where the aspect_mark is Initial_Condition and the aspect_definition shall be a Boolean_expression.

Legality Rules

  1. An Initial_Condition aspect shall only be placed in an aspect_specification of a package_specification.

Static Semantics

  1. An Initial_Condition aspect is an assertion and behaves as a postcondition for the elaboration of both the specification and body of a package. If present on a package, then its assertion expression defines properties (a predicate) of the state of the package which can be assumed to be true immediately following the elaboration of the package. [The expression of the Initial_Condition cannot denote a state abstraction or hidden state. This means that to express properties of hidden state, functions declared in the visible part acting on the state abstractions of the package must be used.]

Dynamic Semantics

  1. With respect to dynamic semantics, specifying a given expression as the Initial_Condition aspect of a package is equivalent to specifying that expression as the argument of an Assert pragma occurring at the end of the (possibly implicit) statement list of the (possibly implicit) body of the package. [This equivalence includes all interactions with pragma Assertion_Policy but does not extend to matters of static semantics, such as name resolution.] An Initial_Condition expression does not cause freezing until the point where it is evaluated [, at which point everything that it might freeze has already been frozen].

Verification Rules

  1. [The Initial_Condition aspect gives a verification condition to show that the implementation of the package_specification and its body satisfy the predicate given in the Initial_Condition aspect.]

  2. Each variable or indirectly referenced state abstraction in an Initial_Condition aspect of a package Q which is declared immediately within the visible part of Q shall be initialized during the elaboration of Q and be denoted by a name of an initialization_item of the Initializes aspect of Q.

Examples

1 package Q
2    with Abstract_State    => State,    -- Declaration of abstract state name State
3         Initializes       => State,    -- State will be initialized during elaboration
4         Initial_Condition => Is_Ready  -- Predicate stating the logical state after
5                                        -- initialization.
6 is
7    function Is_Ready return Boolean
8       with Global => State;
9 end Q;
 1 package X
 2    with Abstract_State    => A,      -- Declares an abstract state named A
 3         Initializes       => (A, B), -- A and visible variable B are initialized
 4                                      -- during package initialization.
 5         Initial_Condition => A_Is_Ready and B = 0
 6                                      -- The logical conditions that hold
 7                                      -- after package elaboration.
 8 is
 9    ...
10    B : Integer;
11
12    function A_Is_Ready return Boolean
13       with Global => A;
14 end X;

7.2. Package Bodies

7.2.1. State Refinement

A state_name declared by an Abstract_State aspect in the specification of a package shall denote an abstraction representing all or part of its hidden state. If the package has a body, the declaration must be completed in the package body by a Refined_State aspect. The Refined_State aspect defines a refinement for each state_name. The refinement shall denote the variables and subordinate state abstractions represented by the state_name and these are known as its constituents.

Constituents of each state_name have to be initialized consistently with that of their representative state_name as determined by its denotation in the Initializes aspect of the package.

A subprogram may have an abstract view and a refined view. The abstract view is a subprogram declaration in a package specification of a package where a subprogram may refer to private types and state abstractions whose details are not visible. A refined view of a subprogram is the body or body stub of the subprogram in the package body whose specification declares its abstract view.

In a refined view a subprogram has visibility of the full type declarations of any private types declared by the enclosing package and visibility of the refinements of state abstractions declared by the package. Refined versions of aspects are provided to express the contracts of a refined view of a subprogram.

7.2.2. Refined_State Aspects

The Refined_State aspect is introduced by an aspect_specification where the aspect_mark is Refined_State and the aspect_definition shall follow the grammar of refinement_list given below.

Syntax

refinement_list   ::= ( refinement_clause { , refinement_clause } )
refinement_clause ::= state_name => constituent_list
constituent_list  ::= null
                    | constituent
                    | ( constituent { , constituent } )

where

constituent ::= object_name | state_name

Name Resolution Rules

  1. A Refined_State aspect of a package_body has visibility extended to the declarative_part of the body.

Legality Rules

  1. A Refined_State aspect shall only appear in the aspect_specification of a package_body. [The use of package_body rather than package body allows this aspect to be specified for generic package bodies.]

  2. If a package_specification has a non-null Abstract_State aspect its body shall have a Refined_State aspect.

  3. If a package_specification does not have an Abstract_State aspect, then the corresponding package_body shall not have a Refined_State aspect.

  4. Each constituent shall be either a variable, a constant, or a state abstraction.

  5. An object which is a constituent shall be an entire object.

  6. A constituent of a state abstraction of a package shall denote either an entity with no Part_Of option or aspect which is part of the hidden state of the package, or an entity whose declaration has a Part_Of option or aspect which denotes this state abstraction (see Abstract_State, Package Hierarchy and Part_Of).

  7. Each abstract_state_name declared in the package specification shall be denoted exactly once as the state_name of a refinement_clause in the Refined_State aspect of the body of the package.

  8. Every entity of the hidden state of a package shall be denoted as a constituent of exactly one abstract_state_name in the Refined_State aspect of the package and shall not be denoted more than once. [These constituents shall be either objects declared in the private part or body of the package, or the declarations from the visible part of nested packages declared immediately therein.]

  9. In a package body where the refinement of a state abstraction is visible the constituents of the state abstraction must be denoted in aspect specifications rather than the state abstraction.

  10. The legality rules related to a Refined_State aspect given in Abstract_State, Package Hierarchy and Part_Of also apply.

  11. Each constituent of a ghost state abstraction shall be either a ghost variable or a ghost state abstraction. [The reverse situation (i.e., a ghost constituent of a non-ghost state abstraction) is permitted.]

  12. A constituent of a synchronized state abstraction shall be either a synchronized object or another synchronized state abstraction. A constituent of a state abstraction which is neither external nor synchronized shall be not be an effectively volatile object for reading, a synchronized state abstraction, or an external state abstraction.

  13. Each constituent of a state abstraction shall be declared before the first subprogram, package, task, or protected body, or expression_function_declaration, in the same declarative_part.

Static Semantics

  1. A Refined_State aspect of a package_body completes the declaration of the state abstractions occurring in the corresponding package_specification and defines the objects and each subordinate state abstraction that are the constituents of the abstract_state_names declared in the package_specification.

  2. A null constituent_list indicates that the named abstract state has no constituents and termed a null_refinement. The state abstraction does not represent any actual state at all. [This feature may be useful to minimize changes to Global and Depends aspects if it is believed that a package may have some extra state in the future, or if hidden state is removed.]

Dynamic Semantics

There are no dynamic semantics associated with Refined_State aspect.

Verification Rules

  1. Each constituent that is a constant shall be a constant with variable inputs.

  2. If the Async_Writers aspect of a state abstraction is True and the Async_Writers aspect of a constituent of that state abstraction is False, then after the elaboration of the (possibly implicit) body of the package which declares the abstraction, the constituent shall be initialized.

Examples

 1-- Here, we present a package Q that declares two abstract states:
 2package Q
 3   with Abstract_State => (A, B),
 4        Initializes    => (A, B)
 5is
 6   ...
 7end Q;
 8
 9-- The package body refines
10--   A onto three concrete variables declared in the package body
11--   B onto the abstract state of a nested package
12package body Q
13   with Refined_State => (A => (F, G, H),
14                          B => R.State)
15is
16   F, G, H : Integer := 0; -- all initialized as required
17
18   package R
19      with Abstract_State => State,
20           Initializes    => State -- initialized as required
21   is
22      ...
23   end R;
24
25   ...
26end Q;

7.2.3. Initialization Issues

Every state abstraction specified as being initialized in the Initializes aspect of a package has to have all of its constituents initialized. This may be achieved by initialization within the package, by assumed pre-initialization (in the case of external state) or, for constituents which reside in another package, initialization by their declaring package.

Verification Rules

  1. For each state abstraction denoted by the name of an initialization_item of an Initializes aspect of a package, all the constituents of the state abstraction must be initialized by:

    • initialization within the package; or

    • assumed pre-initialization (in the case of external states); or

    • for constituents which reside in another unit [and have a Part_Of indicator associated with their declaration (see Abstract_State, Package Hierarchy and Part_Of)] by their declaring package. [It follows that such constituents will appear in the initialization clause of the declaring unit unless they are external states.]

7.2.4. Refined_Global Aspects

A subprogram declared in the specification of a package may have a Refined_Global aspect applied to its body or body stub. A Refined_Global aspect of a subprogram defines a refinement of the Global Aspect of the subprogram; that is, the Refined_Global aspect repeats the Global aspect of the subprogram except that references to state abstractions whose refinements are visible at the point of the subprogram_body are replaced with references to [some or all of the] constituents of those abstractions. References to a state abstraction whose refinement is not visible at the point of the subprogram_body may also be similarly replaced if Part_Of aspect specifications which are visible at the point of the subprogram body identify one or more constituents of the abstraction; such a state abstraction is said to be optionally refinable at the point of the subprogram body.

See section Global Aspects regarding how the rules given in this section apply to protected operations and to task bodies.

The Refined_Global aspect is introduced by an aspect_specification where the aspect_mark is Refined_Global and the aspect_definition shall follow the grammar of global_specification in Global Aspects.

Static Semantics

  1. The static semantics are as for those of the Global aspect given in Global Aspects. [Differences between these two aspects for one subprogram stem from differences in state abstraction visibility between the points where the two aspects are specified.]

Legality Rules

  1. A Refined_Global aspect is permitted on a body_stub (if one is present), subprogram body, entry body, or task body if and only if the stub or body is the completion of a declaration occurring in the specification of an enclosing package, the declaration has a Global aspect which denotes a state abstraction declared by the package and either the refinement of the state abstraction is visible or a Part_Of specification specifying a constituent of the state abstraction is visible.

  2. A Refined_Global aspect specification shall refine the subprogram’s Global aspect as follows:

    1. For each global_item in the Global aspect which denotes a state abstraction whose non-null refinement is visible at the point of the Refined_Global aspect specification, the Refined_Global specification shall include one or more global_items which denote constituents of that state abstraction.

    2. For each global_item in the Global aspect which denotes a state abstraction whose null refinement is visible at the point of the Refined_Global aspect specification, there are no corresponding global_items in the Refined_Global specification. If this results in a Refined_Global specification with no global_items, then the Refined_Global specification shall include a null_global_specification.

    3. For each global_item in the Global aspect which does not denote a state abstraction whose refinement is visible and does not denote an optionally refinable state abstraction, the Refined_Global specification shall include exactly one global_item which denotes the same entity as the global_item in the Global aspect.

    4. For each global_item in the Global aspect which designates a state abstraction which is optionally refinable, refinement of the abstraction is optional in the following sense: either the reference to the state abstraction may be replaced with references to its constituents (following the rules of case ‘a’ above) or not (in which case the rules of case ‘c’ above apply). However, only the latter option is available if the mode of the state abstraction in the Global specification is Output.

    5. No other global_items shall be included in the Refined_Global aspect specification.

    6. At least one state abstraction mentioned in the Global aspect specification shall be unmentioned in the Refined_Global aspect specification. [This usually follows as a consequence of other rules, but not in some cases involving optionally refinable state abstractions where the option is declined.]

  3. Global_items in a Refined_Global aspect_specification shall denote distinct entities.

  4. The mode of each global_item in a Refined_Global aspect shall match that of the corresponding global_item in the Global aspect unless that corresponding global_item denotes a state abstraction which is not mentioned in the Refined_Global aspect. In that case, the modes of the global_items in the Refined_Global aspect which denote (direct or indirect) constituents of that state abstraction collectively determine (as described below) an “effective mode” for the abstraction. If there is at least one such constituent, then that “effective mode” shall match that of the corresponding global_item in the Global aspect; it is determined as follows:

    1. If the refinement of the abstraction is visible and every constituent of the abstraction is mentioned in the Refined_Global aspect with a mode of Output, then the effective mode is Output;

    2. Otherwise, if at least one constituent of the abstraction is mentioned in the Refined_Global aspect with a mode of Output or In_Out, then the effective mode is In_Out;

    3. Otherwise, if at least one constituent of the abstraction is mentioned in the Refined_Global aspect with a mode of Input, then the effective mode is Input;

    4. Otherwise, the effective mode is Proof_In.

    [If there is no such constituent (e.g., because a null refinement is visible) then the mode of the state abstraction in the Global aspect plays no role in determining the legality of the Refined_Global aspect.]

  5. The legality rules for Global Aspects and External states described in Refined External States also apply.

Dynamic Semantics

There are no dynamic semantics associated with a Refined_Global aspect.

Verification Rules

  1. If a subprogram has a Refined_Global aspect it is used in the analysis of the subprogram body rather than its Global aspect.

  2. The verification rules given for Global Aspects also apply.

Examples

 1package Refined_Global_Examples
 2  with SPARK_Mode,
 3       Abstract_State => State
 4is
 5   procedure P1_1 (I : in Integer)
 6     with Global => (In_Out => State);
 7
 8   procedure P1_2 (I : in Integer)
 9     with Global => (In_Out => State);
10
11   procedure P1_3 (Result : out Integer)
12     with Global => (Input => State);
13
14   procedure P1_4 (I : in Integer)
15     with Global => (Output => State);
16
17end Refined_Global_Examples;
 1package body Refined_Global_Examples
 2  with SPARK_Mode,
 3       Refined_State => (State => (A, B))
 4is
 5   A : Integer;  --  The constituents of State
 6   B : Integer;
 7
 8   procedure P1_1 (I : in Integer)
 9     with Refined_Global => (In_Out => A,  --  Refined onto constituents of State
10                             Output => B)  --  B is Output but A is In_Out and
11                                           --  so Global State is also In_Out
12   is
13   begin
14      B := A;
15      A := I;
16   end P1_1;
17
18   procedure P1_2 (I : in Integer)
19     with Refined_Global => (Output => A)  --  Not all of the constituents of
20                                           --  State are updated and so the Global
21                                           --  State must In_Out
22   is
23   begin
24      A := I;
25   end P1_2;
26
27   procedure P1_3 (Result : out Integer)
28     with Refined_Global => (Input => B)  --  Not all of the constituents of State
29                                          --  are read but none of them are
30                                          --  updated so the Global State is Input
31   is
32   begin
33      Result := B;
34   end P1_3;
35
36   procedure P1_4 (I : in Integer)
37     with Refined_Global => (Output => (A, B))  --  The constituents of State are
38                                                --  not read but they are all
39                                                --  updated and so the mode
40                                                --  selector of State is Output
41   is
42   begin
43      A := I;
44      B := A;
45   end P1_4;
46
47end Refined_Global_Examples;

7.2.5. Refined_Depends Aspects

A subprogram declared in the specification of a package may have a Refined_Depends aspect applied to its body or body stub. A Refined_Depends aspect of a subprogram defines a refinement of the Depends aspect of the subprogram; that is, the Refined_Depends aspect repeats the Depends aspect of the subprogram except that references to state abstractions, whose refinements are visible at the point of the subprogram_body, are replaced with references to [some or all of the] constituents of those abstractions.

See section Global Aspects regarding how the rules given in this section apply to protected operations and to task bodies.

The Refined_Depends aspect is introduced by an aspect_specification where the aspect_mark is Refined_Depends and the aspect_definition shall follow the grammar of dependency_relation in Depends Aspects.

Static Semantics

  1. The static semantics are as for those of the Depends aspect given in Depends Aspects. [Differences between these two aspects for one subprogram stem from differences in state abstraction visibility between the points where the two aspects are specified.]

Legality Rules

  1. A Refined_Depends aspect is permitted on a body_stub (if one is present), subprogram body, entry body, or task body if and only if the stub or body is the completion of a declaration in the specification of an enclosing package and the declaration has a Depends aspect which denotes a state abstraction declared by the package and the refinement of the state abstraction is visible.

  2. A Refined_Depends aspect specification is, in effect, a copy of the corresponding Depends aspect specification except that any references in the Depends aspect to a state abstraction, whose refinement is visible at the point of the Refined_Depends specification, are replaced with references to zero or more direct or indirect constituents of that state abstraction. A Refined_Depends aspect shall have a dependency_relation which is derivable from the original given in the Depends aspect as follows:

    1. A partially refined dependency relation is created by first copying, from the Depends aspect, each output that is not state abstraction whose refinement is visible at the point of the Refined_Depends aspect, along with its input_list, to the partially refined dependency relation as an output denoting the same entity with an input_list denoting the same entities as the original. [The order of the outputs and the order of inputs within the input_list is insignificant.]

    2. The partially refined dependency relation is then extended by replacing each output in the Depends aspect that is a state abstraction, whose refinement is visible at the point of the Refined_Depends, by zero or more outputs in the partially refined dependency relation. It shall be zero only for a null refinement, otherwise all of the outputs shall denote a constituent of the state abstraction.

    3. If the output in the Depends aspect denotes a state abstraction which is not also an input, then each constituent of the state abstraction shall be denoted as an output of the partially refined dependency relation.

    4. These rules may, for each output in the Depends aspect, introduce more than one output in the partially refined dependency relation. Each of these outputs has an input_list that has zero or more of the inputs from the input_list of the original output. The union of these inputs and the original state abstraction, if it is an input in the input_list, shall denote the same inputs that appear in the input_list of the original output.

    5. If the Depends aspect has a null_dependency_clause, then the partially refined dependency relation has a null_dependency_clause added with an input_list denoting the same inputs as the original.

    6. The partially refined dependency relation is completed by replacing each input which is a state abstraction, whose refinement is visible at the point of the Refined_Depends aspect, by zero or more inputs which are its constituents.

    7. If a state abstraction is denoted in an input_list of a dependency_clause of the original Depends aspect and its refinement is visible at the point of the Refined_Depends aspect (derived via the process described in the rules 3a - 3f above), then:

      • at least one of its constituents shall be denoted as an input in at least one of the dependency_clauses of the Refined_Depends aspect corresponding to the original dependency_clause in the Depends aspect; or

      • at least one of its constituents shall be denoted in the input_list of a null_dependency_clause; or

      • the state abstraction is both an input and an output and not every constituent of the state abstraction is an output of the Refined_Depends aspect. [This rule does not exclude denoting a constituent of such a state abstraction in an input_list.]

  3. These rules result in omitting each state abstraction whose null refinement is visible at the point of the Refined_Depends. If and only if required by the syntax, the state abstraction shall be replaced by a null symbol rather than being omitted.

  4. No other outputs or inputs shall be included in the Refined_Depends aspect specification. Outputs in the Refined_Depends aspect specification shall denote distinct entities. Inputs in an input_list shall denote distinct entities.

  5. [The above rules may be viewed from the perspective of checking the consistency of a Refined_Depends aspect with its corresponding Depends aspect. In this view, each input in the Refined_Depends aspect that is a constituent of a state abstraction, whose refinement is visible at the point of the Refined_Depends aspect, is replaced by its representative state abstraction with duplicate inputs removed.

    Each output in the Refined_Depends aspect, which is a constituent of the same state abstraction whose refinement is visible at the point of the Refined_Depends aspect, is merged along with its input_list into a single dependency_clause whose output denotes the state abstraction and input_list is the union of all of the inputs replaced by their encapsulating state abstraction, as described above, and the state abstraction itself if not every constituent of the state abstraction appears as an output in the Refined_Depends aspect.]

  6. The rules for Depends Aspects also apply.

Dynamic Semantics

There are no dynamic semantics associated with a Refined_Depends aspect as it is used purely for static analysis purposes and is not executed.

Verification Rules

  1. If a subprogram has a Refined_Depends aspect it is used in the analysis of the subprogram body rather than its Depends aspect.

  2. The verification rules given for Depends Aspects also apply.

Examples

 1package Refined_Depends_Examples
 2  with SPARK_Mode,
 3       Abstract_State => State
 4is
 5   procedure P1_1 (I : in Integer)
 6     with Global  => (In_Out => State),
 7          Depends => (State =>+ I);
 8
 9   procedure P1_2 (I : in Integer)
10     with Global  => (In_Out => State),
11          Depends => (State =>+ I);
12
13   procedure P1_3 (Result : out Integer)
14     with Global  => (Input => State),
15          Depends => (Result => State);
16
17   procedure P1_4 (I : in Integer)
18     with Global  => (Output => State),
19          Depends => (State => I);
20
21end Refined_Depends_Examples;
 1package body Refined_Depends_Examples
 2  with SPARK_Mode,
 3       Refined_State => (State => (A, B))
 4is
 5   A : Integer;  --  The constituents of State
 6   B : Integer;
 7
 8   procedure P1_1 (I : in Integer)
 9     with Refined_Global  => (In_Out => A,
10                              Output => B),
11          Refined_Depends => (A => I,  --  A and B are constituents of State and
12                                       --  both are outputs.
13		              B => A)  --  A is dependent on I but A is also an
14                                       --  input and B depends on A. Hence the
15                                       --  Depends => (State =>+ I).
16   is
17   begin
18      B := A;
19      A := I;
20   end P1_1;
21
22   procedure P1_2 (I : in Integer)
23     with Refined_Global  => (Output => A),
24          Refined_Depends => (A => I)  --  One but not all of the constituents
25                                       --  of State is updated hence the
26                                       --  Depends => (State =>+ I)
27   is
28   begin
29      A := I;
30   end P1_2;
31
32   procedure P1_3 (Result : out Integer)
33     with Refined_Global  => (Input => B),
34          Refined_Depends => (Result => B)  --  Not all of the constituents of
35                                            --  State are read but none of them
36                                            --  are updated, hence
37                                            --  Depends => (Result => State)
38   is
39   begin
40      Result := B;
41   end P1_3;
42
43   procedure P1_4 (I : in Integer)
44     with Refined_Global  => (Output => (A, B)),
45          Refined_Depends => ((A, B) => I)  --  The constituents of State are not
46                                            --  inputs but all constituents of
47                                            --  State are updated, hence,
48                                            --  Depends => (State => I)
49   is
50   begin
51      A := I;
52      B := I;
53   end P1_4;
54
55end Refined_Depends_Examples;

7.2.6. Abstract_State, Package Hierarchy and Part_Of

In order to avoid aliasing-related problems (see Anti-Aliasing), SPARK must ensure that if a given piece of state (either an object or a state abstraction) is going to be a constituent of a given state abstraction, that relationship must be known at the point where the constituent is declared.

For a variable declared immediately within a package body, this is not a problem. The state refinement in which the variable is specified as a constituent precedes the declaration of the variable, and so there is no window between the introduction of the variable and its identification as a constituent. Similarly for a variable or state abstraction that is part of the visible state of a package that is declared immediately within the given package body.

For variable declared immediately within the private part of a package, such an unwanted window does exist (and similarly for a variable or state abstraction that is part of the visible state of a package that is declared immediately within the given private part).

In order to cope with this situation, the Part_Of aspect provides a mechanism for specifying at the point of a constituent’s declaration the state abstraction to which it belongs, thereby closing the window. The state abstraction’s refinement will eventually confirm this relationship. The Part_Of aspect, in effect, makes visible a preview of (some of) the state refinement that will eventually be provided in the package body.

This mechanism is also used in the case of the visible state of a private child unit (or a public descendant thereof).

The Part_Of aspect can also be used in a different way to indicate that an object or state abstraction is to be treated as though it were declared within a protected unit or task unit (see section Tasks and Synchronization).

Static Semantics

  1. A Part_Of indicator is a Part_Of option of a state abstraction declaration in an Abstract_State aspect, a Part_Of aspect specification applied to a variable declaration or a Part_Of specification aspect applied to a generic package instantiation. The Part_Of indicator shall denote the encapsulating state abstraction of which the declaration is a constituent, or shall denote a task or protected unit (see section Tasks and Synchronization).

Legality Rules

  1. A variable declared immediately within the private part of a given package or a variable or state abstraction that is part of the visible state of a package that is declared immediately within the private part of the given package shall have its Part_Of indicator specified; the Part_Of indicator shall denote a state abstraction declared by the given package.

  2. A variable or state abstraction which is part of the visible state of a non-generic private child unit (or a public descendant thereof) shall have its Part_Of indicator specified; the Part_Of indicator shall denote a state abstraction declared by either the parent unit of the private unit or by a public descendant of that parent unit.

  3. A Part_Of aspect specification for a package instantiation applies to each part of the visible state of the instantiation. More specifically, explicitly specifying the Part_Of aspect of a package instantiation implicitly specifies the Part_Of aspect of each part of the visible state of that instantiation. The legality rules for such an implicit specification are the same as for an explicit specification.

  4. No other declarations shall have a Part_Of indicator which denotes a state abstraction. [Other declarations may have a Part_Of indicator which denotes a task or protected unit (see section Tasks and Synchronization).]

  5. The refinement of a state abstraction denoted in a Part_Of indicator shall denote as constituents all of the declarations that have a Part_Of indicator denoting the state abstraction. [This might be performed once the package body has been processed.]

  6. A state abstraction and a constituent (direct or indirect) thereof shall not both be denoted in one Global, Depends, Initializes, Refined_Global or Refined_Depends aspect specification. The denotation must be consistent between the Global and Depends or between Refined_Global and Refined_Depends aspects of a single subprogram.

Verification Rules

  1. For flow analysis, where a state abstraction is visible as well as one or more of its constituents, its refinement is not visible and the Global and or Depends aspects of a subprogram denote the state abstraction, then in the implementation of the subprogram a direct or indirect

    • read of a constituent of the state abstraction shall be treated as a read of the encapsulating state abstraction of the constituent; or

    • update of a constituent of the state abstraction shall be treated as an update of the encapsulating state abstraction of the constituent. An update of such a constituent is regarded as updating its encapsulating state abstraction with a self dependency as it is unknown what other constituents the state abstraction encapsulates.

Examples

 1package P
 2   --  P has no state abstraction
 3is
 4   ...
 5end P;
 6
 7--  P.Pub is the public package that declares the state abstraction
 8package P.Pub --  public unit
 9  with Abstract_State => (R, S)
10is
11   ...
12end P.Pub;
13
14--  State abstractions of P.Priv, A and B, plus the concrete variable X,
15--  are split up among two state abstractions within P.Pub, R and S.
16with P.Pub;
17private package P.Priv --  private unit
18  with Abstract_State => ((A with Part_Of => P.Pub.R),
19                          (B with Part_Of => P.Pub.S))
20is
21   X : T  --  visible variable which is a constituent of P.Pub.R.
22     with Part_Of => P.Pub.R;
23end P.Priv;
24
25with P.Priv; --  P.Priv has to be with'd because its state is part of
26             --  the refined state.
27package body P.Pub
28  with Refined_State => (R => (P.Priv.A, P.Priv.X, Y),
29                         S => (P.Priv.B, Z))
30is
31   Y : T2;  --  hidden state
32   Z : T3;  --  hidden state
33   ...
34end P.Pub;

7.2.7. Refined Postcondition Aspects

A subprogram declared in the specification of a package may have a Refined_Post aspect applied to its body or body stub. The Refined_Post aspect may be used to restate a postcondition given on the declaration of a subprogram in terms of the full view of a private type or the constituents of a refined state_name.

The Refined_Post aspect is introduced by an aspect_specification where the aspect_mark is “Refined_Post” and the aspect_definition shall be a Boolean expression.

Legality Rules

  1. A Refined_Post aspect may only appear on a body_stub (if one is present) or the body (if no stub is present) of a subprogram or entry which is declared in the specification of a package, its abstract view. If the initial declaration in the visible part has no explicit postcondition, a postcondition of True is assumed for the abstract view.

  2. A Refined_Post aspect is an assertion. The same legality rules apply to a Refined_Post aspect as for a postcondition (a Post aspect).

Static Semantics

  1. [A Refined Postcondition of a subprogram defines a refinement of the postcondition of the subprogram and is intended for use by callers who can see the body of the subprogram.]

  2. [Logically, the Refined Postcondition of a subprogram must imply its postcondition. This means that it is perfectly logical for the declaration not to have a postcondition (which in its absence defaults to True) but for the body or body stub to have a Refined Postcondition. It also means that a caller who sees the Refined Postcondition of a subprogram will always be able to prove at least as much about the results of the call as if the usual precondition were used instead.]

  3. The static semantics are otherwise as for a postcondition.

Dynamic Semantics

  1. When a subprogram or entry with a Refined Postcondition is called, the Refined Postcondition is evaluated immediately before the evaluation of the postcondition or, if there is no postcondition, immediately before the point at which a postcondition would have been evaluated. If the Refined Postcondition evaluates to False, then the exception Assertion.Assertion_Error is raised. Otherwise, the postcondition is then evaluated and checked as described in the Ada RM.

Verification Rules

  1. If a subprogram has both a Refined_Post aspect and a Post (and/or Post’Class) aspect, then the verification condition associated with postcondition checking is discharged in two steps.

    First, the success of the Refined_Post run-time check must be proven as usual (i.e., just like any other run-time check).

    Next, an additional proof obligation is generated which relates the Refined_Post to the Post (and Post’Class) aspects of the subprogram according to a “wrapper” model. Imagine two subprograms with the same parameter profile and Global and Depends aspects, but with different postconditions P1 and P2 (neither of these two subprograms has a Refined_Post aspect). Suppose further that the first subprogram is a “wrapper” for the second; that is, its implementation consists of nothing but a call to the second subprogram (for functions, the call would occur in a return statement). Consider the proof obligation generated for the postcondition check of that “wrapper” subprogram; roughly speaking, it is a check that P1 is implied by P2. In that sense of the word “implied”, a verification condition is generated that any Post/Post’Class condition for a subprogram is implied by its Refined_Post condition. In particular, knowledge about the internals of the subprogram that was available in proving the Refined_Post condition is not available in proving this implication (just as, in the “wrapper” illustration, the internal details of the second subprogram are not available in proving the postcondition of the first).

  2. If a Refined_Post aspect specification is visible at the point of a call to the subprogram, then the Refined_Post is used instead of the Postcondition aspect for purposes of formal analysis of the call. Similarly for using the Refined_Global aspect instead of the Global aspect and the Refined_Depends aspect instead of the Depends aspect. [Roughly speaking, the “contract” associated with a call is defined by using the Refined_* aspects of the callee instead of the corresponding non-refined aspects in the case where Refined_* aspect specifications are visible.]

7.2.8. Refined External States

External state which is a state abstraction requires a refinement as does any state abstraction. There are rules which govern refinement of a state abstraction on to external states which are given in this section.

Legality Rules

  1. A state abstraction that is not specified as External shall not have constituents which are External states.

  2. An External state abstraction shall have each of the properties set to True which are True for any of its constituents.

  3. Refined_Global aspects must respect the rules related to external properties of constituents which are external states given in External State and External State - Variables and Types.

  4. All other rules for Refined_State, Refined_Global and Refined_Depends aspect also apply.

Examples

 1package Externals
 2  with SPARK_Mode,
 3       Abstract_State => ((Combined_Inputs with External => Async_Writers),
 4                          (Displays with External => Async_Readers),
 5                          (Complex_Device with External => (Async_Readers,
 6                                                            Effective_Writes,
 7                                                            Async_Writers))),
 8       Initializes    => Complex_Device,
 9       Always_Terminates
10is
11   procedure Read (Combined_Value : out Integer)
12     with Global   => Combined_Inputs,  -- Combined_Inputs is an Input;
13                                        -- it does not have Effective_Reads and
14                                        -- may be an specified just as an
15                                        -- Input in Global and Depends aspects.
16          Depends  => (Combined_Value => Combined_Inputs);
17
18   procedure Display (D_Main, D_Secondary : in String)
19     with Global   => (Output => Displays), -- Displays is an Output and may
20                                           -- be specified just as an
21                                           -- Output in Global and Depends
22                                           -- aspects.
23          Depends  => (Displays => (D_Main, D_Secondary));
24
25   function Last_Value_Sent return Integer
26     with Volatile_Function,
27          Global => Complex_Device;  -- Complex_Device is an External state.
28                                     -- It does not have Effective_Reads and
29                                     -- may be an specified as a global_item of
30                                     -- a volatile function.
31
32   procedure Output_Value (Value : in Integer)
33     with Global  => (In_Out => Complex_Device),
34          Depends => (Complex_Device => (Complex_Device, Value));
35   -- Output_Value only sends out a value if it is not the same
36   -- as the last value sent.  When a value is sent it updates
37   -- the saved value and has to check a status port.
38   -- The subprogram must be a procedure.
39
40end Externals;
 1private package Externals.Temperature
 2  with SPARK_Mode,
 3       Abstract_State => (State with External => Async_Writers,
 4                                     Part_Of  => Externals.Combined_Inputs),
 5       Always_Terminates
 6is
 7   procedure Read (Temp : out Integer)
 8     with Global  => State,
 9          Depends => (Temp => State);
10end Externals.Temperature;
 1private package Externals.Pressure
 2  with SPARK_Mode,
 3       Abstract_State => (State with External => Async_Writers,
 4                                     Part_Of  => Externals.Combined_Inputs),
 5       Always_Terminates
 6is
 7   procedure Read (Press : out Integer)
 8     with Global  => State,
 9          Depends => (Press => State);
10end Externals.Pressure;
 1private package Externals.Main_Display
 2  with SPARK_Mode,
 3       Abstract_State => (State with External => Async_Readers,
 4                                     Part_Of  => Externals.Displays),
 5       Always_Terminates
 6is
 7   procedure Display (Text: in String)
 8     with Global => (Output => State),
 9          Depends => (State => Text);
10end Externals.Main_Display;
 1private package Externals.Secondary_Display
 2  with SPARK_Mode,
 3       Abstract_State => (State with External => Async_Readers,
 4                                     Part_Of  => Externals.Displays),
 5       Always_Terminates
 6is
 7   procedure Display (Text: in String)
 8     with Global => (Output => State),
 9          Depends => (State => Text);
10end Externals.Secondary_Display;
 1with System.Storage_Elements,
 2     Externals.Temperature,
 3     Externals.Pressure,
 4     Externals.Main_Display,
 5     Externals.Secondary_Display;
 6
 7package body Externals
 8  with SPARK_Mode,
 9       Refined_State => (Combined_Inputs => (Externals.Temperature.State,
10                                             Externals.Pressure.State),
11                         -- Both Temperature and
12                         -- Pressure are inputs only.
13
14                         Displays => (Externals.Main_Display.State,
15                                      Externals.Secondary_Display.State),
16                         -- Both Main_Display and
17                         -- Secondary_Display are outputs only.
18
19                         Complex_Device => (Saved_Value,
20                                            Out_Reg,
21                                            In_Reg))
22                         -- Complex_Device is a mixture of inputs, outputs and
23                         -- non-volatile constituents.
24is
25   Saved_Value : Integer := 0;  -- Initialized as required.
26
27   Out_Reg : Integer
28     with Volatile,
29          Async_Readers,
30          Effective_Writes, -- Every value written to the port is significant.
31          Address  => System.Storage_Elements.To_Address (16#ACECAFE0#);
32
33   In_Reg : Integer
34     with Volatile,
35          Async_Writers,
36          Address  => System.Storage_Elements.To_Address (16#A11CAFE0#);

7.3. Private Types and Private Extensions

No extensions or restrictions.

7.3.1. Private Operations

No extensions or restrictions.

7.3.2. Type Invariants

[Type invariants are supported in SPARK, but are subject to restrictions which imply that if a type invariant is specified for a type T, then any new verification conditions which this introduces outside of the package which defines T are trivially satisified. These restrictions ensure that any object or value of type T (or a descendant thereof) which can be named outside of that package will satisfy the invariant and so, for example, could not fail the runtime check associated with passing that object or value as a parameter in call to a procedure for which Ada requires runtime checking of the invariant (which, in turn, means that the verification condition corresponding to that runtime check is trivially satisfied). In order to accomplish this goal, verification conditions for type invariants are introduced in several contexts where Ada does not define corresponding runtime checks.]

[As a consequence of this approach, adding or deleting a type invariant for a private type should have little or no impact on users outside of the package defining the private type; on the other hand, such a change could have a great deal of impact on the verification conditions generated for the implementation of the private type and its operations.]

[Just as a reminder to the reader, text enclosed in square brackets is non-normative expository text. This is true everywhere in the SPARK RM, but there is a lot of such expository text in this section and we don’t want anyone to be confused about what is strictly part of the language definition and what is not.]

Static Semantics

  1. For a given type-invariant bearing type T, a boundary subprogram is a subprogram which is declared inside the immediate scope of type T, and visible outside the immediate scope of T.

    The point at which a generic is declared plays no role in determining whether a subprogram declared as or within an instantiation of that generic is a boundary subprogram.

Legality Rules

  1. The aspect Type_Invariant may be specified in SPARK, but only for the completion of a private type. [In other words, the Type_Invariant aspect shall not be specified for a partial view of a type, nor for the completion of a private extension.] The aspect Type_Invariant’Class is not in SPARK.

  2. [A Type_Invariant expression shall not have a variable input; see Expressions for the statement of this rule.]

  3. A Type_Invariant shall not apply to an effectively volatile type for reading.

Verification Rules

In Ada RM 7.3.2, Ada defines the points at which runtime checking of type invariants is performed. In SPARK, these rules (or, more precisely, the verification conditions corresponding to these Ada dynamic semantics rules) are extended in several ways. In effect, verification conditions are generated as if Ada defined additional dynamic type invariant checking at several points (described below) where, in fact, Ada defines no such checks. [This means that when we talk below about extending invariant checks, we are only talking about generating additional verification conditions; we are not talking about any changes in a program’s behavior at run-time.]

  1. The type invariant expression for a type T shall not include a call to a boundary function for type T, if that boundary function has an input with a part of type T. [This often means that a type invariant expression cannot contain calls to functions declared in the visible part of the package in question.]

Ramification: It is a consequence of other rules that upon entry to a boundary subprogram for a type T, every part of every input that is of type T can be assumed to satisfy T’s invariant.

  1. Upon returning from a boundary subprogram for a type T, a verification condition is introduced for every part of every output that is of type T (or a descendant thereof), to ensure that this part satisfies T’s invariant.

  2. For every subprogram declared inside the immediate scope of type T, the preceding rule [and ramification] also apply to [any parts of] any global input or output and to [any parts of] any tagged subprogram parameter.

  3. When calling a boundary subprogram for a type T or a subprogram declared outside of the immediate scope of T, a verification condition is introduced for every part of every input that is of type T (or a descendant thereof), to ensure that this part satisfies T’s invariant. [This verification condition is trivially satisfied if the caller is outside of the immediate scope of T, or if the input in question is subject to rule 5 and constant for the caller. The idea here is to prevent invariant-violating values from “leaking out”.]

Ramification: It is a consequence of other rules that upon return from a boundary subprogram for a type T or a subprogram declared outside of the immediate scope of T, every part of every output that is of type T (or a descendant thereof) can be assumed to satisfy T’s invariant.

  1. For every subprogram, the preceding rule [and ramification] also apply to [any parts of] any global input or output and to [any parts of] any tagged subprogram parameter. [The verification condition of rule 6 is trivially satisfied if the caller is outside of the immediate scope of T, or if the input in question is subject to rule 4 and constant for the caller.]

  2. At the end of the elaboration of a package (i.e., at the point where the Initial_Condition, if any, is checked) a verification condition is introduced for the objects (both variables and constants) declared within the package. [If one chooses to think of package elaboration as being performed by a notional parameterless “elaboration” subprogram, then this rule (very roughly speaking) says that the global outputs of this notional subprogram follow much the same rules as for other subprograms.]

  3. A Type_Invariant expression shall always terminate.

Ramification: In determining whether a dispatching call is a call to a boundary subprogram or to a subprogram declared outside of the immediate scope of T, the statically named callee is used.

Ramification: It is possible that the underlying tag of a tagged object (at runtime) may differ from the tag of its nominal (compile time) type. Suppose that an object X is (statically) of type T1 (or T1’Class) but has T2’Tag as its underlying tag, and that T2 has one or more components which are not components of T1. Ada does not define runtime checking of type invariants for such “hidden” components of parameters. The rules about tagged inputs and outputs in rules 6 and 8 are introduced in order to deal with technical difficulties that would otherwise arise in the treatment of these hidden components.

7.3.3. Default Initial Conditions

The Default_Initial_Condition aspect may be specified only as part of the aspect_specification of a private_type_declaration. The aspect_definition, if any, of such an aspect specification shall be either a null literal or a Boolean_expression.

The aspect_definition may be omitted; this is semantically equivalent to specifying a static Boolean_expression having the value True.

An aspect specification of “null” indicates that the partial view of the type does not define full default initialization (see Declarations). [The full view of the type might or might not define full default initialization.] This case has no associated dynamic semantics.

Conversely, an aspect specification of a Boolean_expression indicates that, in the partial view of the type, every part whose type is not annotated with the Relaxed_Initialization aspect defines full default initialization. This case also has dynamic semantics.

7.4. Deferred Constants

No extensions or restrictions.

7.5. Limited Types

No extensions or restrictions.

7.6. Assignment and Finalization

Legality Rules

  1. Controlled types are not permitted in SPARK.

7.7. Elaboration Issues

SPARK imposes a set of restrictions which ensure that a call to a subprogram cannot occur before the body of the subprogram has been elaborated. The success of the runtime elaboration check associated with a call is guaranteed by these restrictions and so the verification condition associated with such a check is trivially discharged. Similar restrictions are imposed to prevent the reading of uninitialized library-level variables during library unit elaboration, and to prevent instantiation of a generic before its body has been elaborated. Finally, restrictions are imposed in order to ensure that the Initial_Condition (and Initializes aspect) of a library-level package can be meaningfully used.

These restrictions are described in this section. Because all of these elaboration-related issues are treated similarly, they are discussed together in one section.

Note that throughout this section an implicit call (e.g., one associated with default initialization of an object or with a defaulted parameter in a call) is treated in the same way as an explicit call, and an explicit call which is unevaluated at the point where it (textually) occurs is ignored at that point (but is not ignored later at a point where it is evaluated). This is similar to the treatment of expression evaluation in Ada’s freezing rules. This same principle applies to the rules about reading global variables discussed later in this section.

Static Semantics

  1. A call which occurs within the same compilation_unit as the subprogram_body of the callee is said to be an intra-compilation_unit call.

  2. A construct (specifically, a call to a subprogram or a read or write of a variable) which occurs in elaboration code for a library-level package is said to be executable during elaboration. If a subprogram call is executable during elaboration and the callee’s body occurs in the same compilation_unit as the call, then any constructs occurring within that body are also executable during elaboration. [If a construct is executable during elaboration, this means that it could be executed during the elaboration of the enclosing library unit and is subject to certain restrictions described below.]

    For a given library unit L1 and a given distinct library unit’s spec or body L2 depending on L1 through a chain of with_clauses, the elaboration of the body of L1 is said to be known to precede the elaboration of L2 if either:

    1. L2 references L1 in an Elaborate or Elaborate_All pragma; or

    2. L1’s Elaborate_Body aspect is True; or

    3. L1 does not require a body (the terminology is a little odd in this case because L1 has no body); or

    4. L1 is preelaborated and L2’s library unit is not; or

    5. L2 semantically depends on some library_item L3 such that the elaboration of the body of L1 is known to precede the elaboration of L3. [See Ada RM 10.1.1 for definition of semantic dependence.]

Legality Rules

  1. SPARK requires that an intra-compilation_unit call which is executable during elaboration shall occur after a certain point in the unit (described below) where the subprogram’s completion is known to have been elaborated. The portion of the unit following this point and extending to the start of the completion of the subprogram is defined to be the early call region for the subprogram. An intra-compilation_unit call which is executable during elaboration and which occurs (statically) before the start of the completion of the callee shall occur within the early call region of the callee.

  2. The start of the early call region is obtained by starting at the subprogram’s completion (typically a subprogram_body) and then traversing the preceding constructs in reverse elaboration order until a non-preelaborable statement/declarative_item/pragma is encountered. The early call region starts immediately after this non-preelaborable construct (or at the beginning of the enclosing block (or library unit package spec or body) if no such non-preelaborable construct is found).

    [The idea here is that once elaboration reaches the start of the early call region, there will be no further expression evaluation or statement execution (and, in particular, no further calls) before the subprogram_body has been elaborated because all elaborable constructs that will be elaborated in that interval will be preelaborable. Hence, any calls that occur statically after this point cannot occur dynamically before the elaboration of the subprogram body.]

    [These rules allow this example

    package body Pkg is
       ...
       procedure P;
       procedure Q;
       X : Integer := Some_Function_Call; -- not preelaborable
       procedure P is ... if Blap then Q; end if; ... end P;
       procedure Q is ... if Blaq then P; end if; ... end Q;
    begin
       P;
    end;
    

    even though the call to Q precedes the body of Q. The early call region for either P or Q begins immediately after the declaration of X. Note that because the call to P is executable during elaboration, so is the call to Q.]

  1. For purposes of the above rules, a subprogram completed by a renaming-as-body is treated as though it were a wrapper which calls the renamed subprogram (as described in Ada RM 8.5.4(7.1/1)). [The notional “call” occuring in this wrapper is then subject to the above rules, like any other call.]

  2. If an instance of a generic occurs in the same compilation_unit as the body of the generic, the body must precede the instance.

    [If this rule were only needed in order to avoid elaboration check failures, a similar rule to the rule for calls could be defined. This stricter rule is used in order to avoid having to cope with use-before-definition, as in

    generic
    package G is
       ...
    end G;
    
    procedure Proc is
       package I is new G; -- expansion of I includes references to X
    begin ... ; end;
    
    X : Integer;
    
    package body G is
       ... <uses of X> ...
    end G;
    

    This stricter rule applies even if the declaration of the instantiation is not “executable during elaboration”].

  3. In the case of a dispatching call, the subprogram_body mentioned in the above rules is that (if any) of the statically denoted callee.

  4. The first freezing point of a tagged type shall occur within the early call region of each of its overriding primitive operations.

    [This rule is needed to prevent a dispatching call before the body of the (dynamic, not static) callee has been elaborated. The idea here is that after the freezing point it would be possible to declare an object of the type and then use it as a controlling operand in a dispatching call to a primitive operation of an ancestor type. No analysis is performed to identify scenarios where this is not the case, so conservative rules are adopted.]

    [Ada ensures that the freezing point of a tagged type will always occur after both the completion of the type and the declarations of each of its primitive subprograms; the freezing point of any type will occur before the declaration of any objects of the type or the evaluation of any expressions of the type. This is typically all that one needs to know about freezing points in order to understand how the above rule applies to a particular example.]

  5. For purposes of defining the early call region, the specification and body of a library unit package whose Elaborate_Body aspect is True are treated as if they both belonged to some enclosing declaration list with the body immediately following the specification. This means that the early call region in which a call is permitted can span the specification/body boundary.

    This is important for tagged type declarations.

  6. For each call that is executable during elaboration for a given library unit package spec or body, there are two cases: it is (statically) a call to a subprogram whose completion is in the current compilation_unit (or in a preelaborated unit), or it is not. In the latter case, an Elaborate_All pragma shall be provided to ensure that the given library unit spec or body will not be elaborated until after the complete semantic closure of the unit in which the (statically denoted) callee is declared.

  7. For an instantiation of a generic package (excluding a bodiless generic package) which does not occur in the same compilation unit as the generic body, the same rules apply as described above for a call (i.e., an Elaborate_All pragma is required). For an instantiation of a generic subprogram which does not occur in the same compilation unit as the generic body, the same rules also apply except that only an Elaborate (as opposed to an Elaborate_All) pragma is required.

  8. An implementation is permitted to accept constructs which violate the preceding rules in this section (e.g., an implementation might choose to behave, for purposes of defining an early call region, as though some non-preelaborable construct is preelaborable), but only if the implementation is able to statically ensure that accepting these constructs does not introduce the possibility of failing an elaboration check (either for a call or for an instantiation), reading an uninitialized variable, or unsafe reliance on a package’s Initial_Condition. [If an implementation chooses to take advantage of this permission, then the burden is entirely on the implementation to “get it right”.]

[These rules correctly prohibit the following example:

package P is
   function F return Boolean;
   Flag : Boolean := F; -- would fail elaboration checks
end; --]

Examples

1function Times_2 (X : Integer) return Integer is
2begin
3   return 2 * X;
4end Times_2;
 1with Times_2;
 2
 3package Intra_Unit_Elaboration_Order_Examples
 4  with Initializes => (X, Y)
 5is
 6   pragma Elaborate_Body;  --  Ensures body of package is elaborated
 7                           --  immediately after its declaration
 8   procedure P (I : in out Integer); --  P and hence Q are executable during
 9   procedure Q (J : in out Integer); --  elaboration as P is called in the
10                                     --  package body
11
12   X : Integer := Times_2 (10);  --  Not preelaborable
13                                 --  The early call region begins here
14                                 --  and extends into the package body because
15                                 --  of the Elaborate_Body pragma.
16
17   Y : Integer;
18
19   procedure R (Z : in out Integer)
20     with Post => Z = G (Z'Old); --  The call to G is allowed here as it is in
21                                 --  the early call region
22
23   procedure S (A : in out Integer)
24     with Global => Y;           --  Global Y needs to be initialized.
25
26   function F (I : Integer) return Integer;
27   function G (J : Integer) return Integer is (2 * F (J));
28   --  The call to F is allowed here as it is in
29   --  early call region.
30end Intra_Unit_Elaboration_Order_Examples;
 1package body Intra_Unit_Elaboration_Order_Examples is
 2
 3   function F (I : Integer) return Integer is (I + 1);
 4   --  The early call region for F ends here as the body has been
 5   --  declared. It can now be called using normal visibility rules.
 6
 7   procedure P (I : in out Integer) is
 8   begin
 9      if I > 10 then
10         Q (I);  --  Q is still in the early call region and so this call is
11                 --  allowed
12      end if;
13   end P;
14   --  The early call region for P ends here as the body has been
15   --  declared. It can now be called using normal visibility rules.
16
17   procedure Q (J : in out Integer) is
18   begin
19      if J > 20 then
20         J := J - 10;
21         P (J);  --  P can be called as its body is declared.
22      end if;
23   end Q;
24   --  The early call region for Q ends here as the body has been
25   --  declared. It can now be called using normal visibility rules.
26
27   procedure R (Z : in out Integer) is
28   begin
29      Z := G (Z); --  The expression function G has been declared and
30                  --  so can be called
31   end R;
32
33   procedure S (A : in out Integer) is
34   begin
35      A := A + Y; --  Reference to Y is ok because it is in the early call
36                  --  region and the Elaborate_Body pragma ensures it is
37                  --  initialized before it is used.
38   end S;
39
40begin
41   Y := 42;
42   P (X);   --  Call to P and hence Q during the elaboration of the package.
43end Intra_Unit_Elaboration_Order_Examples;
1package Inter_1 is
2   function F (I : Integer) return Integer;
3end Inter_1;
1package body Inter_1 is
2   function F (I : Integer) return Integer is (I);
3end Inter_1;
1package Inter_2 is
2   function G (I : Integer) return Integer;
3end Inter_2;
1package body Inter_2 is
2   function G (I : Integer) return Integer is (I);
3end Inter_2;
 1with Inter_1;
 2pragma Elaborate_All (Inter_1);  --  Ensure the body of the called function F
 3                                 --  has been elaborated.
 4
 5package Inter_Unit_Elaboration_Examples with Elaborate_Body is
 6   X : Integer := Inter_1.F (10);  --  The call to F is ok because its body is
 7                                   --  sure to have been elaborated.
 8   Y : Integer;
 9
10   procedure P (I : in out Integer);  --  P is declared so that the package
11                                      --  requires a body for this example.
12end Inter_Unit_Elaboration_Examples;
 1with Inter_2;
 2pragma Elaborate_All (Inter_2);  --  Ensure body of called function G has
 3                                 --  been elaborated.
 4
 5package body Inter_Unit_Elaboration_Examples is
 6   procedure P (I : in out Integer) is
 7   begin
 8      I := 2 * I;
 9   end P;
10begin
11   Y := Inter_2.G (20);  --  Call to G is ok because the body of
12                         --  G is sure to have been elaborated.
13end Inter_Unit_Elaboration_Examples;

7.7.1. Use of Initial_Condition and Initializes Aspects

Static Semantics

To ensure the correct semantics of the Initializes and Initial_Condition aspects, when applied to library units, language restrictions (described below) are imposed in SPARK which have the following consequences:

  1. During the elaboration of a library unit package (spec or body), library-level variables declared outside of that package cannot be modified and library-level variables declared outside of that package can only be read if

    1. the variable (or its state abstraction) is mentioned in the Initializes aspect of its enclosing package (from Initializes Aspects); and

    2. either the variable is declared and initialized during the elaboration of the specification of its enclosing library unit package or the elaboration of the body of that library unit is known to precede the elaboration of the spec or body which reads the variable.

  2. From the end of the elaboration of a library package’s body to the invocation of the main program (i.e., during subsequent library unit elaboration), variables declared in the package (and constituents of state abstractions declared in the package) remain unchanged. The Initial_Condition aspect is an assertion which is checked at the end of the elaboration of a package body (but occurs textually in the package spec; see Initial_Condition Aspects). The initial condition of a library-level package will remain true from this point until the invocation of the main subprogram (because none of the inputs used in computing the condition can change during this interval). This means that a package’s initial condition can be assumed to be true both upon entry to the main subprogram itself and during elaboration of any other unit (spec or body) whose elaboration is known to follow that of the body of the package (see preceding definition of “known to precede”; known to follow is, by definition, the inverse relationship). An Initial_Condition which depends on no variable inputs can also be assumed to be true throughout the execution of the main subprogram.

  3. If a package’s Initializes aspect mentions a state abstraction whose refinement includes constituents declared outside of that package, then the elaboration of bodies of the enclosing packages of those constituents will precede the elaboration of the body of the package declaring the abstraction (as a consequence of the rules given in Elaboration Issues). The idea here is that all constituents of a state abstraction whose initialization has been promised are in fact initialized by the end of the elaboration of the body of the abstraction’s unit - we don’t have to wait for the elaboration of other units (e.g., private children) which contribute to the abstraction.

Verification Rules

  1. If a read of a variable (or state abstraction, in the case of a call to a subprogram which takes an abstraction as an input) declared in another library unit is executable during elaboration (as defined above), then either

    • the entity being read shall be a variable (i.e., not a state abstraction) and shall be initialized (perhaps by default) during the elaboration of its enclosing library unit specification; or

    • the elaboration of the compilation unit which performs the read shall be known to follow that of the body of the unit declaring the variable or state abstraction.

    In either case, the variable or state abstraction shall be specified as being initialized in the Initializes aspect of the declaring package. [This is needed to ensure that the variable has been initialized at the time of the read.]

  2. If a variable is declared (immediately or not) within a library unit package specification, and if that variable is initialized (perhaps by default) during the elaboration of that specification, and if any part of that variable is also assigned to during the elaboration of the corresponding library unit package body, then that library unit’s Elaborate_Body aspect shall be True. [This is needed to ensure that the variable remains unread between the elaboration of the specification and of the body of its enclosing library unit.]

  3. The elaboration of a package’s specification and body shall not write to a variable (or state abstraction, in the case of a call to a procedure which takes an abstraction as an output) declared outside of the package. The output associated with a read of an external state with the property Effective_Reads is permitted. [This rule applies to all packages: library-level or not, instantiations or not.] The inputs and outputs of a package’s elaboration (including the elaboration of any private descendants of a library unit package) shall be as described in the Initializes aspect of the package.

Legality Rules

  1. The elaboration of a package body shall be known to follow the elaboration of the body of each of the library units [(typically private children)] which provide constituents for a state abstraction denoted in the Initializes aspect of the given package.

Examples

1package P
2  with Initializes => VP
3is
4   pragma Elaborate_Body;  --  Needed because VP is
5   VP : Integer;           --  Initialized in the body
6end P;
 1with P;
 2pragma Elaborate_All (P);  --  P.VP is used in initialization of V
 3
 4package Initialization_And_Elaboration
 5  with Abstract_State    => State,
 6       Initializes       => (State,
 7                             V => P.VP),  -- Initializing V depends on P.VP
 8       Initial_Condition => V = P.VP and Get_It = 0
 9is
10   V : Integer := P.VP;
11
12   procedure Do_It (I : in Integer)
13     with Global => (In_Out => State);
14
15   function Get_It return Integer
16     with Global => State;
17end Initialization_And_Elaboration;
 1private package Initialization_And_Elaboration.Private_Child
 2  with Abstract_State    => (State with Part_Of =>
 3                               Initialization_And_Elaboration.State),
 4       Initializes       => State,
 5       Initial_Condition => Get_Something = 0
 6is
 7   procedure Do_Something (I : in Integer)
 8     with Global   => (In_Out => State),
 9          Always_Terminates;
10
11   function Get_Something return Integer
12     with Global => State;
13end Initialization_And_Elaboration.Private_Child;
 1with Initialization_And_Elaboration.Private_Child;
 2pragma Elaborate (Initialization_And_Elaboration.Private_Child);
 3--  pragma Elaborate for the private child is required because it is a
 4--  constituent of the state abstraction
 5--  Initialization_And_Elaboration.State, which is mentioned in the
 6--  Initializes aspect of the package.
 7
 8package body Initialization_And_Elaboration
 9  with Refined_State => (State => Private_Child.State)
10  --  State is initialized
11  --  Private child must be elaborated.
12is
13   procedure Do_It (I : in Integer)
14     with Refined_Global => (In_Out => Private_Child.State)
15   is
16   begin
17      Private_Child.Do_Something (I);
18   end Do_It;
19
20   function Get_It return Integer
21     with Refined_Global => Private_Child.State
22   is
23   begin
24      return Private_Child.Get_Something;
25   end Get_It;
26end Initialization_And_Elaboration;