INTRO(2) INTRO(2) NAME intro - introduction to Limbo modules for the Inferno system SYNOPSIS include "sys.m"; sys := load Sys Sys->PATH; include "draw.m"; draw := load Draw Draw->PATH; include "tk.m"; tk := load Tk Tk->PATH; ... etc. Generically: include "module.m"; module := load Module Module->PATH; DESCRIPTION This section introduces the Limbo modules available to the programmer; see the corresponding manual pages for more information. Each module is declared with a single Limbo include file. Before calling a module's functions, an application must load the module; the application stores the resulting value in a variable for later use as the module qualifier. The examples above illustrate the style. It will usually be necessary in some cases to qualify names with the appropriate module pointer or to import the types and functions; the manual pages assume the names are acces- sible in the current scope. Although many modules are self-contained, dependencies may exist. For example, the system module, Sys, provides basic services that many other modules require. These are the Inferno equivalent to `system calls'. In a few cases, several related modules share a single include file; for instance, security.m. The manual pages describe how to include a module definition during compilation and load an implementation during execu- tion. The documentation also lists relevant functions or abstract data types. Although the include files declare these components, the manual pages list them explicitly. In all cases, the enclosing module declaration is assumed so that unqualified identifiers can be used in the text without ambiguity, reducing clutter in the text. In practice when programming, many consider it good style to use an explicit module reference for functions and constants. Page 1 Plan 9 (printed 10/6/24) INTRO(2) INTRO(2) The Limbo modules are identical on any machine that is run- ning Inferno, either native or hosted, which enables Limbo programs to be written and tested on any Inferno system. Many modules are described in a single page, such as regex(2). Several larger modules are explained in several sections, such as math-intro(2), math-elem(2), math-fp(2), and math-linalg(2). SEE ALSO draw-intro(2), keyring-intro(2), math-intro(2), prefab- intro(2), security-intro(2), sys-intro(2) Page 2 Plan 9 (printed 10/6/24)