-*- Mode: Text; Fonts: Ct18b -*- CHAPTER 13 PACKAGES YOUR HOUSE HAS A PLUMBING problem and you need to do some repair work. You could use the resources you have at home-at three o'clock in the morning almost anything can be made to stop a drip. However, it will be better in the long run to go to a hardware store in the morning and get the package of materials needed to do the job correctly and efficiently. Finally, at home, you can collect the tools you need and put them to use. It isn't important how the tools work but just that they do work. Now, Ada isn't going to stop your leaky faucets, but there is a parallel here. In Ada, a programmer may collect software tools in a package. The first tow design examples have both used packages in their solutions so by now you should have an intuitive feel for the use of this language feature. This chapter takes a closer look at packages and examines their structure and applications.