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!standard 12.3(7/3)          20-01-10 AI12-0205-1/04
!standard 12.3(10)
!standard 12.5(2.1/3)
!standard 12.5(2.2/3)
!standard 12.5(7/2)
!class amendment 16-10-06
!status work item 19-10-06
!status Hold 18-12-10 (11-0-0)
!status work item 16-10-06
!status received 16-10-06
!priority Medium
!difficulty Medium
!subject Defaults for generic formal types
!summary
The syntax of generic formal type parameters is modified to permit default subtypes to be specified.
!problem
Ada 2012 does not have defaults for generic formal types, packages, or objects of mode "in out". While not a serious problem (users can always be forced to supply explicit values for all parameters), it is sometimes a nuisance and unnecessarily complicates some generic instantiations. Allowing more kinds of defaults for generic formal parameters can significantly ease the use of generic units. This AI proposes a means of specifying defaults for generic formal types. Defaults for formal packages and formal objects of mode "in out" are proposed in a separate AI (see AI12-0297-1).
!proposal
[NOTE: Now that !wording is added, maybe this section should be changed to read simply "(See !summary.)"?]
12.5(2.1-2.2) is modified to read
formal_complete_type_declaration ::= type defining_identifier[discriminant_part] is formal_type_definition [or use \default_\subtype_mark] [aspect_specification];
formal_incomplete_type_declaration ::= type defining_identifier[discriminant_part] [is tagged] [or use \default_\subtype_mark];
The optional "or use subtype_mark" defines a default type to be used if an instantiation does not explicitly provide an actual for that parameter. 12.3(7 and 10) are modified to include \default_\subtype_mark as an option for missing parameter associations. (Note: "default_" is in italics in \default_\subtype_mark.) The subtype denoted by \default_\subtype_mark must fulfill all the constraints/rules as if it occurred as a generic actual in a generic parameter association.
!wording
Modify 12.3(7/3) as follows:
The generic actual parameter is either the explicit_generic_actual_parameter given in a generic_association for each formal, or the corresponding default_expression{, \default_\subtype_mark,} or default_name if no generic_association is given for the formal. When the meaning is clear from context, the term generic actual, or simply actual, is used as a synonym for generic actual parameter and also for the view denoted by one, or the value of one.
AARM Discussion: Any matching or other Legality Rules that apply to a an generic actual are applied to any default_expression, \default_\subtype_mark, or default_name that are used for an actual.
[Editor's note: Steve was unsure if the Legality Rules applied to defaults. I think it is obvious (a default is an actual, and the Legality Rules aren't conditional), but it doesn't hurt to emphasize that.]
Modify 12.3(10) as follows:
A generic_instantiation shall contain at most one generic_association for each formal. Each formal without an association shall have a default_expression{, \default_\subtype_mark,} or subprogram_default.
Replace 12.5(2.1-2.2/3):
formal_complete_type_declaration ::= type defining_identifier[discriminant_part] is formal_type_definition [or use \default_\subtype_mark] [aspect_specification];
formal_incomplete_type_declaration ::= type defining_identifier[discriminant_part] [is tagged] [or use \default_\subtype_mark];
Add after 12.5(7/2):
The \default_\subtype_mark, if any, shall denote a subtype which is allowed as an actual subtype for the formal type.
AARM Ramification: This rule is observed at compile time of the generic_declaration, and is consistent with the handling of the default_name of a formal subprogram. This means that a type declared outside of the generic_declaration cannot be used as the \default_\subtype_mark for a formal type that depends on any other formal type.
!discussion
This AI proposes to allow generic formal types to have defaults. Currently, only subprograms and 'in' objects may have a default value. However, the benefits of default parameters can exist for any kind of parameter. The possibility of defaults for formal packages and formal objects of mode "in out" is proposed in a separate AI (see AI12-0297-1).
The aim is to make generic instantiations simpler to write, or rather, to give designers of generic units the means to design their units such that instantiations can be made simpler than today. In the case of generic formal types, it is often possible to supply a reasonable default subtype.
The syntax for default types is hard to define. 'Or use' was selected because a default type is an alternative to specifying an actual type. We also considered using a new keyword ('default'), the assignment symbol (':='), and various other combinations of existing reserved words ("use", "until others", "else"). "Use" alone is unacceptable because adding a semicolon would make another syntactically legal program (and semantically legal program for packages). All of the others would be OK, but (except for "else") don't have the right flavor. For instance, ":=" seems to imply copying a type (which can't happen).
[Editor's note: I used Bob Duff's suggestion of "or use" in this AI. I thought it read better than the other suggestions. It has the advantage of not being any of the syntax choices considered in the rejected 2002 edition of this AI, and we've already used "and" in the syntax for a purpose other than logical operations. "Or" is probably feeling left out. :-)]
Defaults would have proven useful in the development of a library of container abstractions. A short discussion on comp.lang.ada revealed that several developers of container libraries have come across these issues and perceive them as shortcomings of Ada 95.
---
We only allow default_subtype_marks that can be used directly as an actual for the given formal type. This ensures that an instance that uses the default is going to be legal and not have any hidden contracts.
This rule does not allow any formal types that depend on other formal types of the generic to have a default_subtype_mark unless that default is another formal type of the generic.
We attempted to find a model that would allow types that depend on other formal types to have defaults.
Simply allowing any subtype of the right category is tempting. Any instance will be detect the error, as every rule that applies to an actual type applies to an actual type that is specified by a default (the definition is that the default IS the actual type). However, this means that defaults can cause "hidden contracts" by adding requirements to other formals. For instance:
type Flt_Array is array (Positive range <>) of Float;
generic type Element_Type is digits <>; type Array_Type is array (Positive range <>) of Element_Type or use Flt_Array; procedure Gen is ...
An instance of Gen can only use the default if the Element_Type is of type Float.
We considered simply requiring default types to depend only on other formal types that include defaults. That would allow:
generic type Element_Type is digits <> or use Float; type Array_Type is array (Positive range <>) of Element_Type or use Flt_Array; procedure Gen2 is ...
But that also would allow cases where only individual defaults could be used in a legal instantiation. For instance, the following would be allowed:
generic type Element_Type is digits <> or use Long_Float; type Array_Type is array (Positive range <>) of Element_Type or use Flt_Array; procedure Gen3 is ...
An instance of Gen3 would have to specify one of Element_Type or Array_Type, because the defaults are incompatible.
Such a rule also would ban defaults that are other generic formals if the formal type has any dependence on another formal type.
Another alternative that was considered to require all of the type defaults (together) to make a legal instance, treating the other parameters as their original formals. That would reject Gen and Gen3, and allow Gen2.
Such a rule however means that the defaults for all generic parameters have to be checked as a set, rather than individually. That's different than other default parameters for generic units.
Moreover, such a rule would fail if other kinds of formal parameters depend on types with defaults. For instance:
generic type Element_Type is digits <> or use Long_Float; with function Is_Positive (A : in Element_Type) return Boolean; procedure Gen4 is
The proposed rule would fail here as an test instance of Gen4 (Long_Float, Is_Positive); would be illegal. One could imagine fixing that by extending the rules to default_names for formal subprograms (this would be compatible, as a default_name for a formal subprogram like Is_Positive is illegal in Ada 2012). But this seems like a major complication.
We believe that any rule used here has to at a minimum meet two principles:
* We don't want to repeat any of the rules about matching actuals to formals.
That would certainly lead to missing some, and other sorts of pestilence.
* We also don't want to cause implementations to implement lots of new code -
it should be fairly obvious how to implement the checks using existing code.
The second point simply follows from this being a non-critical feature for Ada and therefore a lot of implementation complexity isn't justifiable.
The simpler rule proposed here works for the use cases that have suggested for defaults. It also could be compatibly extended in the future to use a a more complex rule, preferably one that applied to all kinds of defaults in a generic instance. (It seems inconsistent to have special rules to allow type defaults to depend on other formals, but not have such rules for other kinds of generic formal defaults.)
!example
Consider a list container with an operation returning the number of items currently in the list.
generic type Item_Type is private; with function "=" (L, R : in Item_Type) return Boolean; package Lists is
type List is private;
procedure Append (L : in out List; Item : in Item_Type);
function Length (L : in List) return Natural;
-- ... other operations private
type Node; type Link is access all Node; type Node is record Data : Item_Type; Next, Prev : Link; end record;
type List is new Ada.Finalization.Controlled with record N : Natural := 0; Head, Tail : Link; end record;
-- .. more stuff
end Lists;
All operations would maintain L.N, e.g. Append would add 1. When this was discussed on comp.lang.ada, some people argued that if one has lists of oranges and lists of apples, these should be counted using different types to avoid inadvertantly adding apple counts and orange counts. Hence the interface should be modified:
generic type Item_Type is private; type Item_Count is range <>; -- Must include zero. with function "=" (L, R : in Item_Type) return Boolean; package Lists is
-- ... as above, except:
function Length (L : in List) return Item_Count;
private
type List is new Ada.Finalization.Controlled with record N : Item_Count'Base := 0; Head, Tail : Link; end record;
end Lists;
Well, clearly not everybody agrees with that, and some people don't care, and some may say "well, Item_Count has that funny requirement that zero be included, so let's use Natural", so in a general container package, it might well make sense to provide a default (namely Natural) for the Item_Count type. With that, the generic package could cater for both styles, at no extra cost:
generic type Item_Type is private; type Item_Count is range <> or use Natural; -- New syntax. with function "=" (L, R : in Item_Type) return Boolean; package Lists is
...
end Lists;
!ASIS
** TBD: with new syntax, new/modified ASIS queries will be needed.
!ACATS test
New ACATS B-Tests and C-Tests will be needed to test this feature.
!appendix

The initial /01 version of this AI was copied from AI95-00299-1, which was
discussed and voted No Action in 2002. Since it was complete (the
newly submitted proposal forgot "in out" parameters), already in AI format,
and it was easy to change to use the best newly proposed syntax, it was
a better starting point than the newly submitted proposal - Editor -
October 6, 2016.

****************************************************************

From: Tucker Taft
Sent: Monday, September 26, 2016  3:38 PM

Here is a draft proposal to allow defaults for all formal parameters to a
generic unit. If we have time, we could discuss its merits and demerits at
the ARG meeting in Pittsburgh, before devoting energy to formalizing it as
an AI.

----


Default values for type and package formal parameters in generics
=================================================================

In recent years, designers of programming languages have somewhat given up on
the "fully object oriented" approach, to move instead to a more static approach
via the use of generics. One of the main reasons to do that is of course
performance, since most calls can be resolved (and often inlined) by the
compiler itself. Ada of course lends itself to this approach somewhat, but
lacks a few capabilities as we will see in the following examples.

example 1: default value for types
----------------------------------

Let's look at the standard vector package in the Ada runtime. Its profile is

     generic
        type Index_Type is range <>;
        type Element_Type is private;
        with function "=" (Left, Right : Element_Type) return Boolean is <>;
     package Vectors is
        ...
     end Vectors;

In a lot of cases, one would use a vector instead of a list simply because they
are in general more efficient on modern CPUs and limit the number of calls to
memory allocation. In such cases, the index type is irrelevant, and users will
just want to use Integer for instance. That doesn't work because the Vectors
package need a No_Index, which is a value outside the range of Index_Type. And
for most users that makes the instantiation of the Vectors package more complex
than it should be.

If we had a way to specify a default value for the formal type parameters, the
design of the library could have had:

     generic
        type Element_Type is private;
        type Index_Type is range <> use Natural;     --  new syntax
        with function "=" (Left, Right : Element_Type) return Boolean is <>;
     package Vectors is
        ...
     end Vectors;

     package Char_Vector is new Vectors (Character);

Another example is an algorithm that finds an element in a vector. It
receives the vector and the element to search. For instance:

     generic
        type T is private;
        with package Vecs is new Vectors (T);
        with function "=" (L, R : T) return Boolean is <>;
     function Find (V : Vecs.Vector; E : T) return Vecs.Cursor;

If T represents a Person, we would like to find the first person aged 42.  This
cannot easily be done above, since the parameter E doesn't make sense.
Instead, we want to do what various libraries call a projection. This is a
mapping from type T to another type P, and the predicate then applies to P. So
here the projection returns the person's age, and the equality is the standard
equality on integers. The new profile is:

     generic
        type T is private;         --  a person for instance
        type P is private use T;   --  the age for instance
        with function "=" (E : T; Key : P) return Boolean is <>;
        with function Project (E : T) return P is (E);
     function Find (V : Vecs.Vector; E : P) return Vecs.Cursor;

Here the default parameters mean that we can use the same implementation
for the standard version that search the element itself, and for a version
that uses projections.


example 2: default values for packages
--------------------------------------

When designing a library like the standard containers in the Ada runtime, one
would like to provide as much flexibility to the final user as possible.
Unfortunately, this often means adding extra formal parameters that let users
configure packages (perhaps via the use of signature packages for instance).

Unfortunately, any such extra formal parameter makes the use of the library
harder, since users have to provide values for the parameters, and thus need to
understand what they are used for.

Our second example aims at providing a storage pool to a list package, to let
users control the memory allocation for nodes. The initial attempt is just to
pass the storage pool itself as a formal parameter. But such parameters are
always constant, and the pool needs to be read-write. So we need to pass an
access.

     generic
        type Element_Type is private;
        Pool : access Root_Storage_Pool'Class;
     package Lists is
        type Node is null record;
        type Node_Access is access all Node;
        for Node_Access'Storage_Pool use Pool.all;
     end Lists;

That works, but with several drawbacks: no default value for Pool, so users
must provide one, and understand the semantics; there is dynamic dispatching
here, which prevents inlining and is slower. In particular, the second point
means that when using a default storage pool (like GNAT's
System.Pool_Global.Global_Pool_Object), our package is less efficient than it
would be if we did not have the Pool argument.  The flexibility has a cost.

A better approach is to use a signature package, that includes both the pool
and its type, so as to remove the dynamic dispatching. The code becomes:

     generic
        type Storage_Pool is new Root_Storage_Pool with private;
        Pool : access Storage_Pool;
     package Pools is
     end Pools;

     use System.Pool_Global;   --  GNAT specific
     package Global_Pool is new Pools
        (Unbounded_No_Reclaim_Pool, Global_Pool_Object'Access);

     generic
        type Element_Type is private;
        with package Pool is new Pools (<>);
     package Lists is
        type Node is null record;
        type Node_Access is access all Node;
        for Node_Access'Storage_Pool use Pool.Pool.all;
     end Lists;

No more dynamic dispatching. But the user still has to pass a value for the
formal Pool parameter, it would be nicer to have a syntax to indicate a valid
default, as in:

     generic
        type Element_Type is private;
        with package Pool is new Pools (<>) use Global_Pool;
     package Lists is
        type Node is null record;
        type Node_Access is access all Node;
        for Node_Access'Storage_Pool use Pool.Pool.all;
     end Lists;


example 3:
----------

Let's extend the use of signature packages in our containers library. These
signature packages are a nice way to group type and operations on them for
static resolution, as opposed to what tagged types do at runtime.

While trying to merge code used for Ada.Containers.Vectors and
Ada.Containers.Indefinite_Vectors, we realized that these two packages are
almost exactly similar, except that the second needs to allocate some memory to
store an access to the element in the vector, rather than the element itself.

So we introduce one signature package that describes how elements are stored in
a container:

     generic
        type Element_Type (<>) is private;
        type Stored_Type is private;
        with function To_Stored (E : Element_Type) return Stored_Type;
     package Elements is
     end Elements;

with two possible implementations:

     generic
        type Element_Type is private;    --  definite
     package Definite_Elements is
        function Identity (E : Element_Type) return Element_Type is (E);
        package Traits is new Elements
           (Element_Type, Element_Type, Identity);
     end Definite_Elements;

     generic
        type Element_Type (<>) is private;    --  indefinite
     package Indefinite_Elements is
        type Element_Access is access Element_Type;
        function To_Stored (E : Element_Type) return Element_Access
           is (new Element_Type'(E));
        package Traits is new Elements
           (Element_Type, Element_Access, To_Stored);
     end Indefinite_Elements;

and our simplified vectors package is

     generic
        type Element_Type (<>) is private;
        with package E is new Elements
           (Element_Type => Element_Type, others => <>);
     package Vectors is
        type Vec is array (Natural range <>) of E.Stored_Type;
     end Vectors;

These vectors, with the same implementation, can be used both for definite or
indefinite elements, and even in cases we haven't imagined yet (the user could
for instance have a package that implements something similar to C++'s
small-string-optimization). But it is harder to instantiate, since we now need
to instantiations:

     package String_Elements is new Indefinite_Elements (String);
     package String_Vectors is new Vectors (String, String_Elements);

It would be nice if we could provide a slightly higher-level package that does
this for us, as in the current Ada runtime:

     package String_Vectors is new Vectors (String);

where we could use default values for the formal parameters, as in:

     generic
        type Element_Type (<>) is private;
        with package E is new Elements (Element_Type, others => <>)
           use new Indefinite_Elements (Element_Type);
     package Vectors is
     end Vectors;

The default value is no longer an existing package, but is the result of an
instantiation of a generic package (which covers the worst case of indefinite
elements).

Proposal
--------

We propose to add a new syntax in the formal part of the generics, and alter the
Ada grammar as follows:

   formal_type_declaration ::=
       formal_complete_type_declaration
       | formal_incomplete_type_declaration

   formal_complete_type_declaration ::=
       'type' defining_identifier[discriminant_part] 'is' formal_type_definition
          ['use' formal_type_default_value] [aspect_specification] ';'

   formal_incomplete_type_declaration ::=
       'type' definining_identifier[discriminant_part] ['is tagged']
          ['use' formal_type_default_value] ';'

   formal_type_default_value ::= identifier

   formal_package_declaration ::=
       'with package' defining_identifier 'is new' generic_package_name
           formal_package_actual_part [ 'use' formal_package_default ] ';'

   formal_package_default ::=
       identifier
       | 'new' generic_package_name formal_package_actual_part

Semantics
---------

When no actual value is provided for a formal parameter, the default value
applies.

This default value is either:

  - a name, which is searched in the scope of the declaration of the generic

  - the instantiation of another generic package. It behaves as if the
    instantiation occurred at the location of the formal parameter
    declaration.

Implementation
--------------

When the default value is a generic instantiation, it might result in a large
number of instantiations. Implementations are encouraged, but not required, to
share those instantiations when the types match to limit the impact on code
side.

Extensions
----------

This package leads to a number of possible extensions in the future (not part
of this proposal).

  - allow a limited set of expressions in formal_package_default. For
    instance, it would be nice to allow an if-expression or case-expression
    that can be resolved statically.
    Looking back at the first example above, the default was to always use
    the implementation for indefinite types. But this is not optimal when
    implementation a vector of Integer for instance. So it would be nice
    to allow something like:

     generic
        type Element_Type (<>) is private;
        with package E is new Elements (Element_Type, others => <>)
           use (if Element_Type'Is_Definite
                then Definite_Elements (Element_Type)
                else Indefinite_Elements (Element_Type));
     package Vectors is
     end Vectors;

    We could also look at the 'Size of the type, or whether it is
    controlled, or whether tasking is enabled,...

  - a slightly different approach here is to have a default that is
    directly associated with the type. An example is that of the Hash
    function used in the standard library's hashed maps. We would like
    to indicate that the default is provided by the type.
    For instance:

        generic
           type T (<>) is private
           with function Hash (Self : T) return Hash_Type;
        package Hashable is
        end Hashable;

        type Hashable_String is new String
           with Hashable => String_Hashable;   --  custom aspect
        package String_Hashable is new Hashable
           (String, Ada.Strings.Hash);

        type Person is null record
           with Hashable => Person_Hashable;
        function Hash (P : Person) return Hash_Type;
        function Person_Hashable is new Hashable
           (Person, Hash);

        generic
           type Key (<>) is private;
           type Element_Type (<>) is private;
           with package Hash is new Hashable (Key, others => <>)
              use Key'Hashable;    --  reference the aspect
        package Hashed_Maps is
           ...
        end Hashed_Maps;

    This provides simple instantiation of hashed maps, while providing
    full control by the user as to which hash function to use. This is
    extensible to user-defined types (which the earlier if-expression
    did not provide).

****************************************************************

From: Bob Duff
Sent: Monday, September 26, 2016  4:19 PM

I think it's missing defaults for generic formal objects of mode 'in out'.
That could be useful if you want to pass in a storage pool, and have it
default to some global pool.

****************************************************************

From: Randy Brukardt
Sent: Sunday, October 2, 2016  9:01 PM

Of course, someone tried to do this for Ada 2005, and it didn't get adopted
partly because people didn't like the proposed syntax. (There should be a
lesson there for other people making proposals like this.) [Eventually, it
was deemed not important enough.] The previous attempt (pretty detailed, but
no formal wording) was AI95-00299. Might be best to start from the previous
proposal if creating an AI, since it already exists.

****************************************************************

From: Jeff Cousins
Sent: Monday, October 3, 2016  5:03 AM

It's seems reasonable what it's trying to achieve, but I really don't like the
syntax, another use of "use" and one which doesn't intuitively indicate that a
default is being supplied.
How about aspect-like syntax "with Default_Type => ..." or
"with Default_Package => ..." ?

****************************************************************

From: Tucker Taft
Sent: Monday, October 3, 2016  8:03 AM

This is torturing the meaning of aspects a bit, in my view.  I don't like the
"else use" from the old proposal, but "use" by itself in the new proposal
seeems consistent with the way we use "use" in, for example, "for T'Read
use T_Read."

****************************************************************

From: Randy Brukardt
Sent: Monday, October 3, 2016  12:51 PM

The previous proposal failed mainly because people didn't like any of the
syntaxes proposed. (If you look at the last message in the !appendix, I tried
6 different syntaxes.)

"use" by itself doesn't work, because it is much too close to other, unrelated
syntax:

generic
   type Item_Type is private;
   type Item_Count is range <> use Natural;
package Lists is

But:

generic
   type Item_Type is private;
   type Item_Count is range <>; use Natural;
package Lists is

is also legal syntax (luckily not legal semantically); and there two possible
intents (as

generic
   type Item_Type is private;
   type Item_Count is range <>; use type Natural;
package Lists is

is also legal and sensible), so having the compiler suggest that the semicolon
is included by mistake isn't sufficient.

I think we concluded that this only works syntactically with a new keyword (the
other options look unintuitive at best), and then it was concluded that this
wasn't important enough for a new keyword.

(I know that the minutes don't talk about the syntax choice, but I have a very
strong memory on this particular AI, since I was so disappointed that it
failed. And that memory is completely about the syntax being icky.)

Perhaps this calculus has changed (especially if Ada 2020 has other new
keywords), or maybe someone can dream up some better syntax, but just
proposing the exact same thing that failed last time seems like a waste of our
time.

****************************************************************

From: Randy Brukardt
Sent: Monday, October 3, 2016  12:56 PM

> This is torturing the meaning of aspects a bit, in my view.

We already have Default_Value and Default_Component_Value aspects. Jeff's idea
seems similar to those, so it doesn't seem *that* tortured.

As I noted in my other message, I'd rather try some very different syntax,
because we already know that any of the six previous proposals are very
unlikely to fly.

****************************************************************

From: Tucker Taft
Sent: Monday, October 3, 2016  2:27 PM

>> This is torturing the meaning of aspects a bit, in my view.
>
> We already have Default_Value and Default_Component_Value aspects.
> Jeff's idea seems similar to those, so it doesn't seem *that* tortured.

Good point, but it somehow still feels pretty different.  The presence of an
aspect is now affecting the *syntax* you can use at the instantiation point.
Whereas for Default_Value, it affects the run-time semantics, but not legality
(except in some Baird-ian corner of corner cases, perhaps ;-).

> As I noted in my other message, I'd rather try some very different
> syntax, because we already know that any of the six previous proposals
> are very unlikely to fly.

Perhaps, though sometimes things can look better on a second iteration. So I
don't always buy the argument that "we tried that before and it didn't work."
But I agree it is worth being aware of earlier attempts, so you don't re-fight
exactly the same battles.  I would always rather fight new battles...

****************************************************************

From: Randy Brukardt
Sent: Monday, October 3, 2016  4:13 PM

At the risk of beating a dead horse, I said:

...
> "use" by itself doesn't work, because it is much too close to other,
> unrelated syntax:
...

Note that this effect is much, much worse for formal packages. Stealing part
of an example from the AI:

   generic
      with package Pool is new Pools (<>) use Global_Pool;
   package Some_Container is

is only one character from:

   generic
      with package Pool is new Pools (<>); use Global_Pool;
   package Some_Container is

which is 100% legal and means something completely different.

This is the sort of thing that we don't want more of in the Ada syntax.
(Most existing cases of one character differences having different legal
semantics are unavoidable, such as identifier differences, different literals,
or different operations. This feels very different.)

****************************************************************

From: Tucker Taft
Sent: Monday, October 3, 2016  4:30 PM

We could use some other kind of separator, perhaps.
For example, perhaps we could parenthesize the default specifications, e.g.:

   generic
       type Item_Count is range <> (use Natural);
       type Pkg is new Gen(<>) (use Gen_1);
       ...

Clearly some creativity is needed!

****************************************************************

From: Bob Duff
Sent: Monday, October 3, 2016  4:31 PM

> is only one character from:
>
>    generic
>       with package Pool is new Pools (<>); use Global_Pool;
>    package Some_Container is
>
> which is 100% legal and means something completely different.

But I don't see how that can cause a run-time bug.  And if it doesn't cause
run-time bugs, it's not a significant problem.

I agree we should try to come up with the best syntax we can, but "We can't
find the perfect syntax" is a pretty poor excuse not to fix a rather glaring
inconsistency.

    with package Pool is new Pools (<>) or use Global_Pool;
    with package Pool is new Pools (<>) or else use Global_Pool;

?

I agree with Tuck that using aspects feels wrong, because it's inconsistent
 -- other defaults use syntax.  But I'd rather use aspects than lose the
feature. It's even more inconsistent that some kinds of generic formals can
have defaults, but others can't.

***************************************************************

From: Randy Brukardt
Sent: Monday, October 3, 2016  4:52 PM

> > is only one character from:
> >
> >    generic
> >       with package Pool is new Pools (<>); use Global_Pool;
> >    package Some_Container is
> >
> > which is 100% legal and means something completely different.
>
> But I don't see how that can cause a run-time bug.  And if it doesn't
> cause run-time bugs, it's not a significant problem.

??? Nothing that happens at compile-time can be a significant problem? Why do
we worry about ripple effects and the like???

> I agree we should try to come up with the best syntax we can, but "We
> can't find the perfect syntax" is a pretty poor excuse not to fix a
> rather glaring inconsistency.

Well, it was enough in 2002. Specifically, it was "we can't find appropriate
syntax, and the feature isn't important enough to use kludgy syntax." Only 5
out of 11 wanted to keep working on the AI at the time. I could see a more
favorable vote because of the different members, but it's hard to imagine what
changed that would get this idea passed as is.

>     with package Pool is new Pools (<>) or use Global_Pool;
>     with package Pool is new Pools (<>) or else use Global_Pool;
>
> ?

Well, I didn't try those (only without the "or").

> I agree with Tuck that using aspects feels wrong, because it's
> inconsistent -- other defaults use syntax.  But I'd rather use aspects
> than lose the feature.  It's even more inconsistent that some kinds of
> generic formals can have defaults, but others can't.

I agree, but this is something that should have been fixed in Ada 2005. It's
hard to care anymore, since portable Ada has to be limited pretty much to Ada
2005, and I don't know that will change soon. (And even if it does, it probably
will only be to Ada 2012.) The more stuff that we layer on, the less likely
that non-GNAT compilers ever implement any of it. (Outside of Janus/Ada, other
implementers seem to take these versions as a lump, which is a sure-fire way
never to get anywhere.)

****************************************************************

From: Ed Schonberg
Sent: Monday, October 3, 2016  5:14 PM

> I agree, but this is something that should have been fixed in Ada
> 2005. It's hard to care anymore, since portable Ada has to be limited
> pretty much to Ada 2005, and I don't know that will change soon. (And
> even if it does, it probably will only be to Ada 2012.) The more stuff
> that we layer on, the less likely that non-GNAT compilers ever
> implement any of it. (Outside of Janus/Ada, other implementers seem to
> take these versions as a lump, which is a sure-fire way never to get
> anywhere.)

Iterated component associations, @ as an abbreviation for left-hand sides, and
delta aggregates are mostly implemented in GNAT. Is this a waste of effort
then, or detrimental to the success of the language?

****************************************************************

From: Randy Brukardt
Sent: Monday, October 3, 2016  6:07 PM

I could say that all of these are more important (and they are), but that
would be weaseling.

Clearly these are useful to GNAT's customers, so they're surely not a waste
of effort. It's harder to say about the language, because that begs the
question of *which* Ada language? The one that can be used without vendor
lock-in, or the bleeding edge, or something else.

So I'm frustrated about the lack of Ada compiler alternatives, and I worry
about loading up too much for anyone else to ever follow. (I'm getting about
10% of each version implemented before the next one comes out. Not very
useful.) Taking that frustration out on this proposal is kinda silly,
considering the Global, generator, and parallel proposals that are on the
table (each huge).

And I'm frustrated to just rehash useful ideas that got nowhere years ago,
when pretty much nothing has changed. At least come up with a new angle
before rehashing.

Anyway, venting my frustration does not help progress the Standard, so point
taken.

****************************************************************

From: Tucker Taft
Sent: Monday, October 3, 2016  9:18 PM

>> I agree with Tuck that using aspects feels wrong, because it's
>> inconsistent -- other defaults use syntax.  But I'd rather use
>> aspects than lose the feature.  It's even more inconsistent that some
>> kinds of generic formals can have defaults, but others can't.
>
> I agree, but this is something that should have been fixed in Ada
> 2005. It's hard to care anymore, since portable Ada has to be limited
> pretty much to Ada 2005, and I don't know that will change soon.

Be that as it may, AdaCore has many customers who are using Ada2012 features,
including with the latest Corrigendum fixes.  Our customers do like to know
they are using a standardized language, even though AdaCore is the only vendor
that has implemented these newer features. I suppose the fact that there is an
open-source, free "GPL" version of the compiler helps them feel that even if
AdaCore goes up in smoke, the compiler will live on.

> ... The more stuff that we layer on, the less likely that non-GNAT
> compilers ever implement any of it.

If we were truly worried about this, we would have stopped working on Ada long
ago.  The fact that GNAT is the only Ada compiler keeping up with the language
standard at the moment is not the end of the world.  If you look at other
programming languages, it is not uncommon that there is one preeminent
compiler/front end that really keeps up with the language standard, while the
others lag behind but nevertheless serve some special niche of the market (e.g.
high performance, open-source, educational version, etc.).

In any case, we should try to apply these sort of "complexity" criteria
uniformly. We shouldn't just use them to shoot down a proposal we don't happen
to like.

****************************************************************

From: Randy Brukardt
Sent: Monday, October 3, 2016  9:36 PM

...
> > ... The more stuff that we layer on, the less likely that non-GNAT
> > compilers ever implement any of it.
>
> If we were truly worried about this, we would have stopped working on
> Ada long ago.

That seems pretty extreme. Ada 2005 got implemented by a number of vendors, so
it seems likely that more modest updates would have gotten implemented as well.
Modest work surely is valuable; the question is when do we jump the shark?
(Note that I am convinced that most of the changes in Ada 2012 are
sufficiently for the good; the question mainly is going forward.)

> ...  The fact that GNAT is the only Ada compiler keeping up with the
> language standard at the moment is not the end of the world.  If you
> look at other programming languages, it is not uncommon that there is
> one preeminent compiler/front end that really keeps up with the
> language standard, while the others lag behind but nevertheless serve
> some special niche of the market (e.g.
> high performance, open-source, educational version, etc.).
>
> In any case, we should try to apply these sort of "complexity"
> criteria uniformly.  We shouldn't just use them to shoot down a
> proposal we don't happen to like.

I agree. Have you seen me support much other than the smallest fixes and stuff
related to parallel processing lately??? I was musing the other day on whether
I was becoming too obstructionistic, and part of that is the fear that we're
moving Ada too fast.

In any case, if someone came up with a syntax proposal for this that everyone
could get behind, I wouldn't have concerns about this particular proposal. It
*should* have been done in 2002, after all, and it's fairly small. I just
don't want to see us adopt some junk syntax that we could have adopted in 2002
 -- in which case the feature would be much more useable (and the containers
probably would have been designed differently).

****************************************************************

From: Gary Dismukes
Sent: Thursday, December 6, 2018  4:22 PM

This AI [this is version /02 of the AI - Editor] has been revised to restrict
it to define defaults only for generic formal types.  As decided at the
previous ARG meeting, the other default features (defaults for formal packages
and formal "in out" objects) are being moved to a separate AI.  This revision
adds !wording and makes small changes to other sections.  I plan
to send a draft of the other AI by the 5 pm CST deadline today (or
at worst shortly past...), but without adding !wording for that one.

****************************************************************

From: Randy Brukardt
Sent: Thursday, December 6, 2018  11:13 PM

...
> !summary
> 
> The syntax of generic formal type parameters is modified to permit 
> default subtypes to be specified.

Perhaps a better summary would not talk about the "syntax" ('cause the 
semantics is more important!) and would just say:

Generic formal type parameters are modified to permit default subtypes to be 
specified.

I realize you inherited this one.

> !problem
> 
> Ada 2012 does not have defaults for generic formal types, packages, or 
> objects of mode "in out". While not a serious problem (users can 
> always be forced to supply explicit values for all parameters), it is 
> sometimes a nuisance and unnecessarily complicates some generic instantiations.
> Allowing more kinds of defaults for generic formal parameters can 
> significantly ease the use of generic units. This AI proposes a means 
> of specifying defaults for generic formal types. Defaults for formal 
> packages and formal objects of mode "in out" are proposed in a 
> separate AI (see AI12-0xxx?).

The other AI is now numbered AI12-0297-1; I made this correction (two places).

> 
> !proposal
> 
> [NOTE: Now that !wording is added, maybe this section should be 
> changed to read simply "(See !summary.)"?]

I definitely wouldn't repeat the syntax here. But John would complain about 
"See Summary", especially if the summary talks about the syntax and has almost
no info about the actual proposal. Perhaps a middle ground would be to talk 
about the concept of a default type a bit. In any case, the existing !proposal
should go, 'cause it just repeats the !wording.

> !wording
> 
> Modify 12.3(7) as follows:
> 
> The generic actual parameter is either the 
> explicit_generic_actual_parameter given in a generic_association for 
> each formal, or the corresponding default_expression{, 
> default_subtype_mark,} or default_name if no generic_association is 
> given for the formal. When the meaning is clear from context, the term 
> generic actual, or simply actual, is used as a synonym for generic 
> actual parameter and also for the view denoted by one, or the value of 
> one.

You want "default_" to be in italics here, so that needs to be marked somehow 
(usually backslashs/slashs/stars). Else the editor is likely to fail to notice
that and get a pile of errors from tools. I fixed this throughout the AI.

...
> Replace 12.5(2.1-2.2):

We put the version number in these paragraph numbers, so /3 needs to be added 
here. Fixed that.

> Add after 12.5(7):

And /2 here.
 
...
> !ASIS
> 
> ** Unknown ASIS effect **

There's new syntax here, so this should say something like:

** TBD: with new syntax, new/modified ASIS queries will be needed.

...which I did. (Not that this is likely to ever matter. We'll probably drop 
these sections in AI20s once we start working on those.)

****************************************************************

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