[erlang-questions] import/1

[David Mercer]

Joel Reymont wrote:

> On Jun 8, 2009, at 5:03 PM, Kostis Sagonas wrote:
>
> > What does it mean "to import all functions from a module" in a
> > language with hot-code loading when this set of functions can change
> > at anytime?
> > (and the compiler currently looks only at one module at a time)
> 
> 
> The functions exported from the module at compilation time.

This can be done using a parse transform.  Logic something like this: when a
local function call is found in a parse tree (i.e., {call, _, {atom, _,
FunName}), and if the function is not defined in the rest of the parse tree
nor in any explicit import (-import/2's), then modules imported by
-import/1's are checked to see if any of them have the function defined in
them, and, if so, the call is transformed to something like {call, _,
{remote, _, {atom, _, ModuleName}, {atom, _, FunName}}}.

> I can't see how -import() can work at runtime.

It could work if you have only one -import/1.  In that case, the parse
transform described above doesn't bother checking whether the function
exists in the imported module, and automatically transforms it into the
remote call.  If you mess up, though, the error is pushed to runtime rather
than compile time, which is probably what you needed anyway, if you really
wanted runtime importing rather than compile-time.

I don't need this parse transform, because I use HRL's as described in my
previous message, but this approach may have obviated my having to create
these HRL's.  The only catch is that sometimes I export functions from
modules that are not part of the interface that I intend to be imported;
while my HRL approach handles that, this implicit importing would probably
not handle it correctly.  (Well, you could make the parse transform check an
attribute in the BEAM that says what exported functions are not in the
imported interface.)

Now that I think more about it, this might be a better way to go than my
HRL's.  Anyone see a problem with it?

David


> -----Original Message-----
> From: erlang-questions@REDACTED [mailto:erlang-questions@REDACTED] On
> Behalf Of Joel Reymont
> Sent: Monday, June 08, 2009 11:09 AM
> To: Kostis Sagonas
> Cc: Erlang
> Subject: Re: [erlang-questions] import/1
> 
> 
> On Jun 8, 2009, at 5:03 PM, Kostis Sagonas wrote:
> 
> > What does it mean "to import all functions from a module" in a
> > language with hot-code loading when this set of functions can change
> > at anytime?
> > (and the compiler currently looks only at one module at a time)
> 
> 
> The functions exported from the module at compilation time.
> 
> I can't see how -import() can work at runtime.
> 
> ---
> Mac hacker with a performance bent
> http://www.linkedin.com/in/joelreymont
> 
> 
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