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.

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     INTRO(2)                                                 INTRO(2)

          The Limbo modules are identical on any machine that is run-
          ning Inferno, whether 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).

        Exceptions
          Exception handling is now part of the Limbo language,
          replacing an older scheme that used special system calls.
          Various exceptions can be raised by the virtual machine when
          run-time errors are detected.  These are the common ones:

               alt send/recv on same chan
                    It is currently illegal for a channel to appear in
                    two alt statements if they either both receive or
                    both send on it.  (It is fine to send in one and
                    receive in the other.)

               array bounds error
                    Array subscript out of bounds.

               dereference of nil
                    Attempt to use a ref adt or index an array with
                    value nil .

               invalid math argument
                    Inconsistent values provided to functions of
                    math-intro(2).

               module not loaded
                    Attempt to use an uninitialised module variable.

               negative array size
                    The limit in an array constructor was negative.

               out of memory: pool
                    The given memory pool is exhausted.  Pool is cur-
                    rently one of main (kernel memory including Tk
                    allocations), heap (most Limbo data), and image
                    memory for draw(3).

               zero divide
                    Integer division (or mod) by zero.

          There are currently two more classes of exception string
          with a conventional interpretation imposed not by the run-
          time system proper, but by Limbo components:

               fail:reason

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     INTRO(2)                                                 INTRO(2)

                    Commands use this exception to provide an `exit
                    status' to a calling program, particularly the
                    shell sh(1); see also sh(2). The status is given
                    by the reason following the `fail:' prefix.

               assertion:error
                    A module detected the specified internal error.
                    This is most often used for cases where a particu-
                    lar possibility ``cannot happen'' and there is no
                    other need for an error value in the interface.

          Otherwise, most module interfaces tend to use explicit error
          return values, not exceptions.

          Note that a Limbo exception handler can do pattern matching
          to catch a class of exceptions:

               {
                    body of code to protect
               } exception e {
               "out of memory:*" =>
                    recovery action
               "assertion:*" =>
                    fatal_error(e);
               }

          The effect of an unhandled exception in a process that is
          part of an error-recovery group can be controlled using the
          mechanisms described in prog(3) as accessed using
          exception(2).

     SEE ALSO
          draw-intro(2), exception(2), keyring-intro(2), math-
          intro(2), prefab-intro(2), security-intro(2), sys-intro(2)

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