[erlang-questions] Why we need a -module() attribute?

[Joe Armstrong]

Well suppose you sent the *content* of the file in a message - how
would the receiver
know the name of the module?.

Actually the module attribute and file name don't have to be the same - but
if they are not you'll break the autoloading mechanism. If the file name and
module name are different you should know exactly what you're doing :-)

Cheers

/Joe

On Wed, Feb 17, 2016 at 10:45 AM, Konstantin Vsochanov <kost@REDACTED> wrote:
> Hi!
>
> I’m working with Erlang for two years now and enjoy every day of using
> it. However, there are some strange  features I’m wondering about. One
> of them -module() attribute.
>
>  The module name is strictly defined by the name of the .erl file. You
> can’t change module name with -module() attribute. But the the -module()
> attribute is mandatory. Why? Why we need -module() attribute at all?
> Maybe we can make -module() optional in next Erlang release? So we don’t
> need to repeat file name in first string of every .erl file. Or maybe I
> miss something important?
>
> Feedback is appreciated!
>
> - Konstantin Voschanov
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