10.1.4 The Compilation Process

Each compilation unit submitted to the compiler is compiled in the context of an environment declarative_part (or simply, an environment), which is a conceptual declarative_part that forms the outermost declarative region of the context of any compilation. At run time, an environment forms the declarative_part of the body of the environment task of a partition (see 10.2, “Program Execution”). 

The declarative_items of the environment are library_items appearing in an order such that there are no forward semantic dependences. Each included subunit occurs in place of the corresponding stub. The visibility rules apply as if the environment were the outermost declarative region, except that with_clauses are needed to make declarations of library units visible (see 10.1.2).

The mechanisms for creating an environment and for adding and replacing compilation units within an environment are implementation defined. The mechanisms for adding a compilation unit mentioned in a limited_with_clause to an environment are implementation defined. 

If a library_unit_body that is a subprogram_body is submitted to the compiler, it is interpreted only as a completion if a library_unit_declaration with the same defining_program_unit_name already exists in the environment for a subprogram other than an instance of a generic subprogram or for a generic subprogram (even if the profile of the body is not type conformant with that of the declaration); otherwise the subprogram_body is interpreted as both the declaration and body of a library subprogram.

When a compilation unit is compiled, all compilation units upon which it depends semantically shall already exist in the environment; the set of these compilation units shall be consistent in the sense that the new compilation unit shall not semantically depend (directly or indirectly) on two different versions of the same compilation unit, nor on an earlier version of itself. 

The implementation may require that a compilation unit be legal before it can be mentioned in a limited_with_clause or it can be inserted into the environment.

When a compilation unit that declares or renames a library unit is added to the environment, the implementation may remove from the environment any preexisting library_item or subunit with the same full expanded name. When a compilation unit that is a subunit or the body of a library unit is added to the environment, the implementation may remove from the environment any preexisting version of the same compilation unit. When a compilation unit that contains a body_stub is added to the environment, the implementation may remove any preexisting library_item or subunit with the same full expanded name as the body_stub. When a given compilation unit is removed from the environment, the implementation may also remove any compilation unit that depends semantically upon the given one. If the given compilation unit contains the body of a subprogram to which a pragma Inline applies, the implementation may also remove any compilation unit containing a call to that subprogram.