Merge pull request #1130 from gusthoff/content/ada_idioms/new_section/introduction/20241025

Adding chapter: "Introduction"

Author: gusthoff

content/courses/ada-idioms/chapters/introduction.rst

@@ -1,6 +1,234 @@
 :prev_state: False
 
-.. include:: ../../global.txt
-
 Introduction
 ============
+
+.. include:: ../../global.txt
+
+This course describes how to implement selected programming idioms in the Ada
+language.
+
+What is an idiom? Some would say that an idiom is a workaround for an
+expressive deficiency in a programming language. That is not what we mean.
+
+For example, we have in mind solution techniques and designs that are widely
+recognized as most appropriate for certain programming situations, across
+multiple programming languages. For instance, *reference counting* is a
+well-known approach to tracking and managing the storage for objects and is
+conceptually independent of the programming language. The implementation varies
+with the language, of course, but the concept is the same. Other examples might
+include
+:wikipedia:`Resource Acquisition Is Allocation (RAII) <Resource_acquisition_is_initialization>`,
+as well as :wikipedia:`type punning <Type_punning>` and inheritance idioms such
+as
+:wikipedia:`interface inheritance <Subtyping>` and
+:wikipedia:`implementation inheritance <Implementation_inheritance>`.
+
+We also have in mind the best way in Ada to express fundamental, commonly known
+concepts such as Abstract Data Types, something the Ada language directly
+supports but using *building blocks* instead of a single construct. These
+concepts are included because they are fundamental to good design and because
+the building blocks require some explanation.
+
+In contrast, we also include idioms for programming situations specific to the
+Ada language. These are not deficiency workarounds, but rather,
+*best practices* in situations that arise given the capabilities and semantics
+in the language. For example, Ada directly supports tasks (threads). There is
+an idiom for how best to associate a task with an enclosing object so that the
+task has visibility to the object's other components.
+
+Some would equate idioms with design patterns. That's not unreasonable but is
+more narrow than we intend. This is not a document dedicated to describing how
+to use Ada to implement various design patterns. But note that we may refer to
+a design pattern to illustrate an idiom's purpose and implementation. For
+example, in the idiom for controlling object creation and initialization, the
+implementation approach happens to be the same as for expressing a
+Singleton [1]_. Some idiom entries might even be dedicated to implementing
+design patterns, but the intent is beyond just that.
+
+Perhaps instead of *idiom* we should have used the term *cookbook,* but
+although descriptive for some entries, that term didn't completely convey the
+intent either.
+
+
+Assumptions
+-----------
+
+We assume the reader knows Ada to some degree, including some advanced topics.
+For those lacking significant familiarity, we hope these solutions will at
+least give a sense for how to apply the language. We direct such readers to the
+:ref:`online Learn courses dedicated to the Ada language itself <Advanced_Ada_Course_Index>`.
+
+
+Definitions
+-----------
+
+For the sake of avoiding duplication in the idiom entries, the following terms
+are defined here. Note that the Ada Language Manual includes a glossary in
+:arm22:`Section 1.3 <1-3>` (located in Annex N prior to Ada 2022). Some of the
+following expand on the definitions found there.
+
+Suppliers and Clients
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+*Suppliers* are software units that provide programming entities to other
+software units, the users. These users are the *clients* of the supplied units.
+The concept is simple and intuitive, but by defining these terms we can convey
+these roles quickly in the idioms' discussions.
+
+For example, a unit that defines a type and associated operations would be a
+supplier. Client units could use that type to declare objects, and/or apply the
+operations to such objects. The language-defined package :ada:`Ada.Text_IO` is
+an example of a supplier. Similarly, the unit that defines a library, such as a
+math library, is a supplier. Callers to the math library routines are the
+clients. The generic package
+:ada:`Ada.Numerics.Generic_Complex_Elementary_Functions`, once instantiated,
+would be an example supplier. (Arguably, the generic package itself would be a
+supplier to the client that instantiates it, but instantiation is the only
+possibility in that narrow case. Only the routines in the instances can be
+called.)
+
+Betrand Meyer's book on OOP [2]_ limits these terms specifically to the case of
+a type used in an object declaration. Our definitions cover that case but
+others as well.
+
+Units can be both suppliers and clients, because a given supplier's facility,
+i.e., the interface and/or implementation, may be built upon the facilities
+defined by other suppliers.
+
+Compile-time Visibility
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+In the definitions of supplier and client above, we gave an example in which a
+supplier's type was used by clients to declare objects of the type. For the
+client to legally do so |mdash| that is, for the compiler to accept this usage
+and process the code |mdash| the use of the supplier's type has to satisfy the
+scope and visibility rules of the programming language.
+
+Good implementations harness these visibility rules to adhere to the software
+engineering principles of information hiding and abstraction, both of which
+require that nothing of the implementation be made visible to clients unless
+necessary. Compiler enforcement ensures rigorous adherence to those principles.
+
+Therefore, modern languages provide some way to express this control. For
+example, in Ada, a package can have both a *public* part and a *private* part.
+Clients have no compile-time visibility to the private part, nor to the package
+body, as both parts contain implementation artifacts. In class-oriented
+languages, parts of the class can be marked as *public,* *private*, and
+*protected* (the details depend on the specific language).
+
+The idioms explored in
+:ref:`Fundamental Packages <Ada_Idioms_Essential_Design_Idioms_For_Packages>`
+are largely variations on expressing this control in Ada. More details on the
+topic are provided in those idioms.
+
+Views
+~~~~~
+
+In Ada, a *view* of an entity defines what the developer can legally do with
+that entity. For example, the declaration of an object defines a view of that
+object. The operations allowed by that view are determined by the type used to
+declare the object: a signed integer type would allow signed integer numeric
+operations, but not, say, bit-level operations, nor array indexing, and so on.
+Furthermore, the view includes whether the object is a constant.
+
+An entity can have more than one view, depending on where in the text of the
+source code a view of that entity is considered. For example, let's say that
+the integer object introduced above is in fact a variable. Within the scope of
+that variable, we can refer to it by that name and update the value using
+assignment statements. However, if we pass that variable as the argument to a
+procedure call, within that subprogram (for that call) the view specifies a
+different name for the argument, i.e., the formal parameter name. Moreover, if
+that formal parameter is a mode-in parameter, within that procedure body the
+view of the actual parameter is as if it is a constant rather than a variable.
+No assignments via the formal parameter name are allowed because the view at
+that point in the text |mdash| within that procedure body |mdash| doesn't allow
+them, unlike the view outside the body.
+
+As another example, consider a tagged type named :ada:`Parent`, and a type
+derived from it via type extension, named :ada:`Child`. It is common for a
+derived type to have either additional components, or additional operations, or
+both. For a given object of the :ada:`Child` type, the view via type
+:ada:`Child` allows the developer to refer to the extended components and/or
+operations. But we can convert the :ada:`Child` object to a value of the
+:ada:`Parent` type using what is known as a *view conversion*. With that
+:ada:`Parent` view of the :ada:`Child` object, we can only refer to those
+components and operations defined for the :ada:`Parent` type. The compiler
+enforces this temporary view.
+
+For further details about view conversions, please refer to that
+:ref:`specific section of the Advanced Ada course <Adv_Ada_View_Conversion>`.
+
+Views are a fundamental concept in Ada. Understanding them will greatly
+facilitate understanding the rules of the language in general.
+
+
+Partial and Full Views
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+Like objects, types also can have more than one view, again determined by the
+place in the program text that a view is considered. These views can be used to
+apply information hiding and abstraction.
+
+The declaration of a private type defines a *partial view* of a type that
+reveals only some of its properties: the type name, primarily, but in
+particular not the type's representation. For example:
+
+.. code-block:: ada
+
+    type Rotary_Encoder is private;
+
+Private type declarations must occur in the *public part* of a package
+declaration. Anything declared there is compile-time visible to clients of the
+package so the type's name is visible, and potentially some other properties as
+well. Clients can therefore declare objects of the type name, for example, but
+must adhere to their partial view's affect on what is compile-time visible.
+
+The private type's full representation must be specified within the
+*private part* of that same package declaration. For example:
+
+.. code-block:: ada
+
+    type Rotary_Encoder is record ... end record;
+
+Therefore, within that package private part and within the package body the
+*full view* is available because full representation information is
+compile-time visible in those regions. (Parts of child units have the full view
+as well.) This view is necessary in those two regions of the package because
+the representation details are required in order to implement the corresponding
+operations, among other possibilities.
+
+Because the clients only have the partial view they do not have compile-time
+visibility to the type's internal representation. Consequently, the compiler
+will not allow representation-specific references or operations in client code.
+The resulting benefit is that clients are independent of the type's
+representation and, therefore, it can be changed without requiring coding
+changes in the clients. Clients need only be recompiled in that case.
+
+This application of information hiding has real-world cost benefits because
+changing client code can be prohibitively expensive. That's one reason why the
+maintenance phase of a project is by far the most expensive phase. Another
+reason is that *maintenance* is often a euphemism for new development. Either
+way, change is involved.
+
+As a result, when defining types, developers should use private types by
+default, only avoiding them when they are not appropriate. Not using them
+should be an explicit design choice, a line item in code reviews. Not defining
+a major abstraction as a private type should be suspect, just as using a
+:c:`struct` rather than a :c:`class` in C++ should be suspect in that case. (In
+C++ anything a :c:`struct` contains is compile-time visible to clients by
+default.)
+
+For further details about type views, please refer to that
+:ref:`specific section of the Advanced Ada course <Adv_Ada_Type_View>`.
+
+
+Bibliography
+------------
+
+.. [1] Gamma, E., R. Helm, et al. (1995), pp. 127. Design Patterns: Elements of
+       Reusable Object-Oriented Software. Reading, MA, Addison-Wesley
+       Publishing Company.
+
+.. [2] Meyer, B. (1997), pp. 182. Object-Oriented Software Construction,
+       Prentice-Hall.

content/courses/advanced-ada/parts/data_types/types.rst

@@ -2080,6 +2080,8 @@ types. However, we can still convert between them in the same way as we did in
 the previous code examples.
 
 
+.. _Adv_Ada_View_Conversion:
+
 View conversion
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~