[erlang-questions] Why do we need modules at all?

[Tim Watson]

On 24 May 2011 11:39, Bengt Kleberg <bengt.kleberg@REDACTED> wrote:
> Greetings,
>
> It would be very nice to have module renaming/namespacing that allowed
> me to do the following:
> The modules "misc_lib" and "misc_lib_helper" from developer A should be
> able to call each other with their original names.
> The modules "misc_lib" and "misc_lib_helper" from developer B should be
> able to call each other with their original names.
> I should be able to call all 4 at the same time with names that I have
> create/renamed.
>
> So, I need to load modules as a set/application/??? that renames them
> outside of that set (it would be ok to have the same prefix added to all
> of them), and still allows the files in the set/application/??? to keep
> using to the old names.
>
>

I was thinking about this in terms of some kind of special -import or
-alias directive. I think it's possible to do just with a
parse_transform, as long as the set can be fully determined at compile
time. That last point though - therein lies the rub. App-upgrades
change things, and those things can include modules. Dragons.
Nuff-said.