10.4. The Program Library

Compilers are required to enforce the language rules in the same manner for a program consisting of several compilation units (and subunits) as for a program submitted as a single compilation. Consequently, a library file containing information on the compilation units of the program library must be maintained by the compiler or compiling environment. This information may include symbol tables and other information pertaining to the order of previous compilations.

A normal submission to the compiler consists of the compilation unit(s) and the library file. The latter is used for checks and is updated for each compilation unit successfully compiled.

Notes:

A single program library is implied for the compilation units of a compilation. The possible existence of different program libraries and the means by which they are named are not concerns of the language definition; they are concerns of the programming environment.

There should be commands for creating the program library of a given program or of a given family of programs. These commands may permit the reuse of units of other program libraries. Finally, there should be commands for interrogating the status of the units of a program library. The form of these commands is not specified by the language definition.

References: compilation unit, context clause, order of compilation, program, program library, subunit, use clause, with clause.