3.2 Using modules

Modules have been debated fiercely in the Prolog world. Despite all counter-arguments we feel they are extremely useful because

• They hide local predicates
  This is the reason they have been invented in the first place. Hiding provides two features. They allow for short predicate names without worrying about conflicts. Given the flat name-space introduced by modules, they still require meaningful module names as well as meaningful names for exported predicates.

• They document the interface
  Possibly more important then avoiding name-conflicts is their role in documenting which part of the file is for public usage and which is private. When editing a module you may assume you can reorganise anything but the name and semantics of the exported predicates without worrying.

• They help the editor
  The PceEmacs built-in editor does on-the-fly cross-referencing of the current module, colouring predicates based on their origin and usage. Using modules, the editor can quickly find out what is provided by the imported modules by reading just the first term. This allows it to indicate real-time which predicates are not used or not defined.

Using modules is generally easy. Only if you write meta-predicates (predicates reasoning about other predicates) that are exported from a module good understanding of resolution of terms to predicates inside a module is required. Here is a typical example from library(readutil).

:- module(read_util, [ read_line_to_codes/2, % +Fd, -Codes read_line_to_codes/3, % +Fd, -Codes, ?Tail read_stream_to_codes/2, % +Fd, -Codes read_stream_to_codes/3, % +Fd, -Codes, ?Tail read_file_to_codes/3, % +File, -Codes, +Options read_file_to_terms/3 % +File, -Terms, +Options ]).