AARM95 - Pragma Controlled
Author: JTC1/SC22/WG9/ARG, by Randall Brukardt, ARG Editor

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# 13.11.3 Pragma Controlled

1
[Pragma Controlled is used to prevent any automatic reclamation of storage (garbage collection) for the objects created by allocators of a given access type.]

#### Syntax

2
The form of a pragma Controlled is as follows:
3
pragma Controlled(first_subtype_local_name);
3.a
Discussion: Not to be confused with type Finalization.Controlled.

#### Legality Rules

4
The first_subtype_local_name of a pragma Controlled shall denote a non-derived access subtype.

#### Static Semantics

5
A pragma Controlled is a representation pragma that specifies the controlled aspect of representation.
6
Garbage collection is a process that automatically reclaims storage, or moves objects to a different address, while the objects still exist.
6.a
Ramification: Storage reclamation upon leaving a master is not considered garbage collection.
6.b
Note that garbage collection includes compaction of a pool (``moved to a different Address''), even if storage reclamation is not done.
6.c
Reason: Programs that will be damaged by automatic storage reclamation are just as likely to be damaged by having objects moved to different locations in memory. A pragma Controlled should turn off both flavors of garbage collection.
6.d
Implementation Note: If garbage collection reclaims the storage of a controlled object, it should first finalize it. Finalization is not done when moving an object; any self-relative pointers will have to be updated by the garbage collector. If an implementation provides garbage collection for a storage pool containing controlled objects (see 7.6), then it should provide a means for deferring garbage collection of those controlled objects.
6.e
Reason: This allows the manager of a resource released by a Finalize operation to defer garbage collection during its critical regions; it is up to the author of the Finalize operation to do so. Garbage collection, at least in some systems, can happen asynchronously with respect to normal user code. Note that it is not enough to defer garbage collection during Initialize, Adjust, and Finalize, because the resource in question might be used in other situations as well. For example:
6.f
`with Ada.Finalization;
package P is`
6.g
`type My_Controlled is
new Ada.Finalization.Limited_Controlled with private;
procedure Finalize(Object : in out My_Controlled);
type My_Controlled_Access is access My_Controlled;`
6.h
`procedure Non_Reentrant;`
6.i
`private
...
end P;`
6.j
`package body P is
X : Integer := 0;
A : array(Integer range 1..10) of Integer;`
6.k
`procedure Non_Reentrant is
begin
X := X + 1;
-- If the system decides to do a garbage collection here,
-- then we're in trouble, because it will call Finalize on
-- the collected objects; we essentially have two threads
-- of control erroneously accessing shared variables.
-- The garbage collector behaves like a separate thread
-- of control, even though the user hasn't declared
-- any tasks.
A(X) := ...;
end Non_Reentrant;`
6.l
`procedure Finalize(Object : in out My_Controlled) is
begin
Non_Reentrant;
end Finalize;
end P;`
6.m
`with P; use P;
procedure Main is
begin
... new My_Controlled ... -- allocate some objects
... forget the pointers to some of them, so they become garbage
Non_Reentrant;
end Main;
`
6.n
It is the user's responsibility to protect against this sort of thing, and the implementation's responsibility to provide the necessary operations.
6.o
We do not give these operations names, nor explain their exact semantics, because different implementations of garbage collection might have different needs, and because garbage collection is not supported by most Ada implementations, so portability is not important here. Another reason not to turn off garbage collection during each entire Finalize operation is that it would create a serial bottleneck; it might be only part of the Finalize operation that conflicts with some other resource. It is the intention that the mechanisms provided be finer-grained than pragma Controlled.
7
If a pragma Controlled is specified for an access type with a standard storage pool, then garbage collection is not performed for objects in that pool.
7.a
Ramification: If Controlled is not specified, the implementation may, but need not, perform garbage collection. If Storage_Pool is specified, then a pragma Controlled for that type is ignored.
7.b
Reason: Controlled means that implementation-provided garbage collection is turned off; if the Storage_Pool is specified, the pool controls whether garbage collection is done.

#### Implementation Permissions

8
An implementation need not support garbage collection, in which case, a pragma Controlled has no effect.

#### Wording Changes from Ada 83

8.a
Ada 83 used the term ``automatic storage reclamation'' to refer to what is known traditionally as ``garbage collection''. Because of the existence of storage pools (see 13.11), we need to distinguish this from the storage reclamation that might happen upon leaving a master. Therefore, we now use the term ``garbage collection'' in its normal computer-science sense. This has the additional advantage of making our terminology more accessible to people outside the Ada world.

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