use_module/2¶
Description¶
use_module(Module, [Name/Arity, ...])
use_module(Module, [Name/Arity as Alias/Arity, ...])
use_module(Module, [Name//Arity, ...])
use_module(Module, [Name//Arity as Alias//Arity, ...])
use_module(Module, [op(Precedence,Associativity,Operator), ...])
This directive declares that all calls (made from predicates defined in
the category or object containing the directive) to the specified
predicates (or non-terminals) are to be interpreted as calls to
explicitly-qualified module predicates (or non-terminals). Thus, this
directive may be used to simplify writing of predicate definitions by
allowing the programmer to omit the Module:
prefix when using the
predicates listed in the directive (as long as the predicate calls do
not occur as arguments for non-standard Prolog meta-predicates not
declared on the adapter files). It is also possible to include operator
declarations in the second argument.
This directive is also used when compiling calls to the database and reflection built-in methods by examining these methods predicate arguments.
It is possible to specify a predicate alias using the notation
Name/Arity as Alias/Arity
or, in alternative, the notation
Name/Arity:Alias/Arity
. Aliases may be used either for avoiding
conflicts between predicates specified in use_module/2
and
uses/2 directives or for giving more meaningful
names considering the calling context of the predicates.
Note that this directive differs from the directive with the same name
found on some Prolog implementations by requiring the first argument to
be a module name (an atom) instead of a file specification. In Logtalk,
there’s no mixing between loading a resource and (declaring the)
using (of) a resource. As a consequence, this directive doesn’t
automatically load the module. Loading the module file is dependent of
the used backend Prolog compiler and must be done separately (usually,
using a source file use_module/1
or use_module/2
directive in
the entity file or in the application loader file). Also, note that the
name of the module may differ from the name of the module file.
The modules should be loaded prior to the compilation of entities that call the module predicates. This is required in general to allow the compiler to check if the called module predicate is a meta-predicate and retrieve its meta-predicate template to ensure proper call compilation.
Template and modes¶
use_module(+module_identifier, +predicate_indicator_list)
use_module(+module_identifier, +predicate_indicator_alias_list)
use_module(+module_identifier, +non_terminal_indicator_list)
use_module(+module_identifier, +non_terminal_indicator_alias_list)
use_module(+module_identifier, +operator_list)
Examples¶
:- use_module(lists, [append/3, member/2]).
:- use_module(store, [data/2]).
:- use_module(user, [foo/1 as bar/1]).
foo :-
...,
% same as findall(X, lists:member(X, L), A)
findall(X, member(X, L), A),
% same as lists:append(A, B, C)
append(A, B, C),
% same as assertz(store:data(X, C))
assertz(data(X, C)),
% same as retractall(user:foo(_))
retractall(bar(_)),
...
See also