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 13.11.4 Storage Subpools

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{AI05-0111-3} This subclause defines a package to support the partitioning of a storage pool into subpools. A subpool may be specified as the default to be used for allocation from the associated storage pool, or a particular subpool may be specified as part of an allocator (see 4.8). 

Static Semantics

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{AI05-0111-3} The following language-defined library package exists:
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package System.Storage_Pools.Subpools is
   pragma Preelaborate (Subpools);
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   type Root_Storage_Pool_With_Subpools is
      abstract new Root_Storage_Pool with private;
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   type Root_Subpool is abstract tagged limited private;
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   type Subpool_Handle is access all Root_Subpool'Class;
   for Subpool_Handle'Storage_Size use 0;
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   function Create_Subpool (Pool : in out Root_Storage_Pool_With_Subpools)
      return not null Subpool_Handle is abstract;
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{AI05-0252-1}    -- The following operations are intended for pool implementers:
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   function Pool_of_Subpool (Subpool : not null Subpool_Handle)
      return access Root_Storage_Pool_With_Subpools'Class;
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   procedure Set_Pool_of_Subpool (
      Subpool : not null Subpool_Handle;
      To : in out Root_Storage_Pool_With_Subpools'Class);
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   procedure Allocate_From_Subpool (
      Pool : in out Root_Storage_Pool_With_Subpools;
      Storage_Address : out Address;
      Size_In_Storage_Elements : in Storage_Elements.Storage_Count;
      Alignment : in Storage_Elements.Storage_Count;
      Subpool : not null Subpool_Handle) is abstract
         with Pre'Class => Pool_of_Subpool(Subpool) = Pool'Access;
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   procedure Deallocate_Subpool (
      Pool : in out Root_Storage_Pool_With_Subpools;
      Subpool : in out Subpool_Handle) is abstract
         with Pre'Class => Pool_of_Subpool(Subpool) = Pool'Access;
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   function Default_Subpool_for_Pool (
      Pool : in Root_Storage_Pool_With_Subpools)
         return not null Subpool_Handle;
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   overriding
   procedure Allocate (
      Pool : in out Root_Storage_Pool_With_Subpools;
      Storage_Address : out Address;
      Size_In_Storage_Elements : in Storage_Elements.Storage_Count;
      Alignment : in Storage_Elements.Storage_Count);
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   overriding
   procedure Deallocate (
      Pool : in out Root_Storage_Pool_With_Subpools;
      Storage_Address : in Address;
      Size_In_Storage_Elements : in Storage_Elements.Storage_Count;
      Alignment : in Storage_Elements.Storage_Count) is null;
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   overriding
   function Storage_Size (Pool : Root_Storage_Pool_With_Subpools)
      return Storage_Count is (Storage_Elements.Storage_Count'Last);
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private
   ... -- not specified by the language
end System.Storage_Pools.Subpools;
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 {AI05-0111-3} A subpool is a separately reclaimable portion of a storage pool, identified by an object of type Subpool_Handle (a subpool handle). A subpool handle also identifies the enclosing storage pool, a storage pool that supports subpools, which is a storage pool whose type is descended from Root_Storage_Pool_With_Subpools. A subpool is created by calling Create_Subpool or a similar constructor; the constructor returns the subpool handle.
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 {AI05-0111-3} A subpool object is an object of a type descended from Root_Subpool_Type. [Typically, subpool objects are managed by the containing storage pool; only the handles need be exposed to clients of the storage pool. Subpool objects are designated by subpool handles, and are the run-time representation of a subpool.]
19.a/3
Proof: We know that subpool handles designate subpool objects because the declaration of Subpool_Handle says so. 
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 {AI05-0111-3} Each subpool belongs to a single storage pool [(which will always be a pool that supports subpools)]. An access to the pool that a subpool belongs to can be obtained by calling Pool_of_Subpool with the subpool handle. Set_Pool_of_Subpool causes the subpool of the subpool handle to belong to the given pool[; this is intended to be called from subpool constructors like Create_Subpool.] Set_Pool_of_Subpool propagates Program_Error if the subpool already belongs to a pool.
20.a/3
Discussion: Pool_of_Subpool and Set_Pool_of_Subpool are provided by the Ada implementation and typically will not be overridden by the pool implementer. 
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 {AI05-0111-3} When an allocator for a type whose storage pool supports subpools is evaluated, a call is made on Allocate_From_Subpool passing in a Subpool_Handle, in addition to the parameters as defined for calls on Allocate (see 13.11). The subpool designated by the subpool_handle_name is used, if specified in an allocator. Otherwise, Default_Subpool_for_Pool of the Pool is used to provide a subpool handle. All requirements on the Allocate procedure also apply to Allocate_from_Subpool.
21.a/3
Discussion: Deallocate_Subpool is expected to do whatever is needed to deallocate all of the objects contained in the subpool; it is called from Unchecked_Deallocate_Subpool (see 13.11.5).
21.b/3
Typically, the pool implementer will not override Allocate. In the canonical definition of the language, it will never be called for a pool that supports subpools (there is an Implementation Permission below that allows it to be called in certain rare cases). 

Legality Rules

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 {AI05-0111-3} If a storage pool that supports subpools is specified as the Storage_Pool for an access type, the access type is called a subpool access type. A subpool access type shall be a pool-specific access type.
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 {AI05-0111-3} {AI05-0252-1} The accessibility level of a subpool access type shall not be statically deeper than that of the storage pool object. If the specified storage pool object is a storage pool that supports subpools, then the name that denotes the object shall not denote part of a formal parameter, nor shall it denote part of a dereference of a value of a non-library-level general access type. In addition to the places where Legality Rules normally apply (see 12.3), these rules also apply in the private part of an instance of a generic unit. 

Dynamic Semantics

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 {AI05-0111-3} {AI05-0252-1} When an access type with a specified storage pool is frozen (see 13.14), if the tag of the storage pool object identifies a storage pool that supports subpools, the following checks are made:
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the name used to specify the storage pool object does not denote part of a formal parameter nor part of a dereference of a value of a non-library-level general access type; and
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the accessibility level of the access type is not deeper than that of the storage pool object.
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 {AI05-0252-1} Program_Error is raised if either of these checks fail.
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Reason: This check (and its static counterpart) ensures that the type of the allocated objects exists at least as long as the storage pool object, so that the subpools are finalized (which finalizes any remaining allocated objects) before the type of the objects ceases to exist. The access type itself (and the associated collection) will cease to exist before the storage pool ceases to exist.
27.b/3
We also disallow the use of formal parameters and dereferences of non-library-level general access types when specifying a storage pool object if it supports subpools, because the "apparent" accessibility level is potentially deeper than that of the underlying object. Neither of these cases is very likely to occur in practice. 
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 {AI05-0111-3} A call to Subpools.Allocate(P, Addr, Size, Align) does the following:
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Allocate_From_Subpool
  (Root_Storage_Pool_With_Subpools'Class(P),
   Addr, Size, Align,
   Subpool => Default_Subpool_for_Pool
                (Root_Storage_Pool_With_Subpools'Class(P)));
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 {AI05-0111-3} An allocator that allocates in a subpool raises Program_Error if the allocated object has task parts.
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Reason: This is to ease implementation. We envision relaxing this restriction in a future version of Ada, once implementation experience has been gained. At this time, we are unable to come up with a set of rules for task termination that is both useful, and surely feasible to implement. 
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 {AI05-0111-3} Unless overridden, Default_Subpool_for_Pool propagates Program_Error.

Implementation Permissions

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 {AI05-0111-3} When an allocator for a type whose storage pool is of type Root_Storage_Pool'Class is evaluated, but supports subpools, the implementation may call Allocate rather than Allocate_From_Subpool. [This will have the same effect, so long as Allocate has not been overridden.]
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Reason: This ensures either of two implementation models are possible for an allocator with no subpool_specification. Note that the "supports subpools" property is not known at compile time for a pool of the class-wide type.
32.b/3
The implementation can dispatch to Storage_Pools.Allocate. If the pool supports subpools, this will call Allocate_From_Subpool with the default subpool so long as Allocate has not been overridden.
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The implementation can declare Allocate_From_Subpool as a primitive of Root_Storage_Pool in the private part of Storage_Pools. This means that the Allocate_From_Subpool for Root_Storage_Pool_With_Subpools overrides that private one. The implementation can thus call the private one, which will call Allocate for non-subpool-supporting pools. The effect of this implementation does not change if Allocate is overridden for a pool that supports subpools. 
NOTES
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34  {AI05-0111-3} A user-defined storage pool type that supports subpools can be implemented by extending the Root_Storage_Pool_With_Subpools type, and overriding the primitive subprograms Create_Subpool, Allocate_From_Subpool, and Deallocate_Subpool. Create_Subpool should call Set_Pool_Of_Subpool before returning the subpool handle. To make use of such a pool, a user would declare an object of the type extension, use it to define the Storage_Pool attribute of one or more access types, and then call Create_Subpool to obtain subpool handles associated with the pool.
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35  {AI05-0111-3} A user-defined storage pool type that supports subpools may define additional subpool constructors similar to Create_Subpool (these typically will have additional parameters).
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36  {AI05-0111-3} The pool implementor should override Default_Subpool_For_Pool if the pool is to support a default subpool for the pool. The implementor can override Deallocate if individual object reclamation is to be supported, and can override Storage_Size if there is some limit on the total size of the storage pool. The implementor can override Initialize and Finalize if there is any need for non-trivial initialization and finalization for the pool as a whole. For example, Finalize might reclaim blocks of storage that are allocated over and above the space occupied by the pool object itself. The pool implementor may extend the Root_Subpool type as necessary to carry additional information with each subpool provided by Create_Subpool.

Extensions to Ada 2005

35.a/3
{AI05-0111-3} {AI05-0252-1} Subpools and the package System.Storage_Pools.Subpools are new. 

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