Implementation Requirements
- (1)
- The language definition classifies errors into several different
categories:
- (2)
- Errors that are required to be detected prior to run time by
every Ada implementation;
- (3)
These errors correspond to any violation of a rule given in
this International Standard, other than those listed below. In
particular, violation of any rule that uses the terms shall,
allowed, permitted, legal, or illegal belongs to this category.
Any program that contains such an error is not a legal Ada
program; on the other hand, the fact that a program is legal does
not mean, per se, that the program is free from other forms of
error.
- (4)
The rules are further classified as either compile time
rules, or post compilation rules, depending on whether a
violation has to be detected at the time a compilation unit is
submitted to the compiler, or may be postponed until the time a
compilation unit is incorporated into a partition of a program.
- (5)
- Errors that are required to be detected at run time by the
execution of an Ada program;
- (6)
The corresponding error situations are associated with the
names of the predefined exceptions. Every Ada compiler is
required to generate code that raises the corresponding exception
if such an error situation arises during program execution. If
such an error situation is certain to arise in every execution of
a construct, then an implementation is allowed (although not
required) to report this fact at compilation time.
- (7)
- (8)
The language rules define certain kinds of errors that need
not be detected either prior to or during run time, but if not
detected, the range of possible effects shall be bounded. The
errors of this category are called bounded errors. The
possible effects of a given bounded error are specified for each
such error, but in any case one possible effect of a bounded
error is the raising of the exception Program_Error.
- (9)
- (10)
In addition to bounded errors, the language rules define
certain kinds of errors as leading to erroneous execution. Like
bounded errors, the implementation need not detect such errors
either prior to or during run time. Unlike bounded errors, there
is no language-specified bound on the possible effect of
erroneous execution; the effect is in general not predictable.
Implementation Permissions
- (11)
- An implementation may provide nonstandard modes of operation. Typically
these modes would be selected by a pragma or by a command line switch when
the compiler is invoked. When operating in a nonstandard mode, the
implementation may reject compilation_units that do not conform to additional
requirements associated with the mode, such as an excessive number of
warnings or violation of coding style guidelines. Similarly, in a
nonstandard mode, the implementation may apply special optimizations or
alternative algorithms that are only meaningful for programs that satisfy
certain criteria specified by the implementation. In any case, an
implementation shall support a standard mode that conforms to the
requirements of this International Standard; in particular, in the standard
mode, all legal compilation_units shall be accepted.
Implementation Advice
- (12)
- If an implementation detects a bounded error or erroneous execution, it
should raise Program_Error.
-- Email comments, additions, corrections, gripes, kudos, etc. to:
Magnus Kempe -- Magnus.Kempe@di.epfl.ch
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