code(3erl) Erlang Module Definition code(3erl)
NAME
code - Erlang code server.
DESCRIPTION
This module contains the interface to the Erlang code server, which
deals with the loading of compiled code into a running Erlang runtime
system.
The runtime system can be started in interactive or embedded mode.
Which one is decided by the command-line flag -mode:
% erl -mode interactive
The modes are as follows:
* In interactive mode, which is default, only some code is loaded
during system startup, basically the modules needed by the runtime
system. Other code is dynamically loaded when first referenced.
When a call to a function in a certain module is made, and the mod-
ule is not loaded, the code server searches for and tries to load
the module.
* In embedded mode, modules are not auto loaded. Trying to use a mod-
ule that has not been loaded results in an error. This mode is rec-
ommended when the boot script loads all modules, as it is typically
done in OTP releases. (Code can still be loaded later by explicitly
ordering the code server to do so).
To prevent accidentally reloading of modules affecting the Erlang run-
time system, directories kernel, stdlib, and compiler are considered
sticky. This means that the system issues a warning and rejects the re-
quest if a user tries to reload a module residing in any of them. The
feature can be disabled by using command-line flag -nostick.
CODE PATH
In interactive mode, the code server maintains a search path, usually
called the code path, consisting of a list of directories, which it
searches sequentially when trying to load a module.
Initially, the code path consists of the current working directory and
all Erlang object code directories under library directory $OTP-
ROOT/lib, where $OTPROOT is the installation directory of Erlang/OTP,
code:root_dir(). Directories can be named Name[-Vsn] and the code
server, by default, chooses the directory with the highest version num-
ber among those having the same Name. Suffix -Vsn is optional. If an
ebin directory exists under Name[-Vsn], this directory is added to the
code path.
Environment variable ERL_LIBS (defined in the operating system) can be
used to define more library directories to be handled in the same way
as the standard OTP library directory described above, except that di-
rectories without an ebin directory are ignored.
All application directories found in the additional directories appears
before the standard OTP applications, except for the Kernel and STDLIB
applications, which are placed before any additional applications. In
other words, modules found in any of the additional library directories
override modules with the same name in OTP, except for modules in Ker-
nel and STDLIB.
Environment variable ERL_LIBS (if defined) is to contain a colon-sepa-
rated (for Unix-like systems) or semicolon-separated (for Windows) list
of additional libraries.
Example:
On a Unix-like system, ERL_LIBS can be set to the following
/usr/local/jungerl:/home/some_user/my_erlang_lib
On Windows, use semi-colon as separator.
LOADING OF CODE FROM ARCHIVE FILES
Warning:
The support for loading code from archive files is experimental. The
purpose of releasing it before it is ready is to obtain early feedback.
The file format, semantics, interfaces, and so on, can be changed in a
future release. The function lib_dir/2 and flag -code_path_choice are
also experimental.
The Erlang archives are ZIP files with extension .ez. Erlang archives
can also be enclosed in escript files whose file extension is arbi-
trary.
Erlang archive files can contain entire Erlang applications or parts of
applications. The structure in an archive file is the same as the di-
rectory structure for an application. If you, for example, create an
archive of mnesia-4.4.7, the archive file must be named mnesia-4.4.7.ez
and it must contain a top directory named mnesia-4.4.7. If the version
part of the name is omitted, it must also be omitted in the archive.
That is, a mnesia.ez archive must contain a mnesia top directory.
An archive file for an application can, for example, be created like
this:
zip:create("mnesia-4.4.7.ez",
["mnesia-4.4.7"],
[{cwd, code:lib_dir()},
{compress, all},
{uncompress,[".beam",".app"]}]).
Any file in the archive can be compressed, but to speed up the access
of frequently read files, it can be a good idea to store beam and app
files uncompressed in the archive.
Normally the top directory of an application is located in library di-
rectory $OTPROOT/lib or in a directory referred to by environment vari-
able ERL_LIBS. At startup, when the initial code path is computed, the
code server also looks for archive files in these directories and pos-
sibly adds ebin directories in archives to the code path. The code path
then contains paths to directories that look like $OTPROOT/lib/mne-
sia.ez/mnesia/ebin or $OTPROOT/lib/mnesia-4.4.7.ez/mnesia-4.4.7/ebin.
The code server uses module erl_prim_loader in ERTS (possibly through
erl_boot_server) to read code files from archives. However, the func-
tions in erl_prim_loader can also be used by other applications to read
files from archives. For example, the call erl_prim_loader:list_dir(
"/otp/root/lib/mnesia-4.4.7.ez/mnesia-4.4.7/examples/bench)" would list
the contents of a directory inside an archive. See
erl_prim_loader(3erl).
An application archive file and a regular application directory can co-
exist. This can be useful when it is needed to have parts of the appli-
cation as regular files. A typical case is the priv directory, which
must reside as a regular directory to link in drivers dynamically and
start port programs. For other applications that do not need this, di-
rectory priv can reside in the archive and the files under the direc-
tory priv can be read through erl_prim_loader.
When a directory is added to the code path and when the entire code
path is (re)set, the code server decides which subdirectories in an ap-
plication that are to be read from the archive and which that are to be
read as regular files. If directories are added or removed afterwards,
the file access can fail if the code path is not updated (possibly to
the same path as before, to trigger the directory resolution update).
For each directory on the second level in the application archive
(ebin, priv, src, and so on), the code server first chooses the regular
directory if it exists and second from the archive. Function
code:lib_dir/2 returns the path to the subdirectory. For example,
code:lib_dir(megaco,ebin) can return
/otp/root/lib/megaco-3.9.1.1.ez/megaco-3.9.1.1/ebin while
code:lib_dir(megaco,priv) can return /otp/root/lib/megaco-3.9.1.1/priv.
When an escript file contains an archive, there are no restrictions on
the name of the escript and no restrictions on how many applications
that can be stored in the embedded archive. Single Beam files can also
reside on the top level in the archive. At startup, the top directory
in the embedded archive and all (second level) ebin directories in the
embedded archive are added to the code path. See erts:escript(1).
When the choice of directories in the code path is strict, the direc-
tory that ends up in the code path is exactly the stated one. This
means that if, for example, the directory $OTPROOT/lib/mne-
sia-4.4.7/ebin is explicitly added to the code path, the code server
does not load files from $OTPROOT/lib/mnesia-4.4.7.ez/mne-
sia-4.4.7/ebin.
This behavior can be controlled through command-line flag
-code_path_choice Choice. If the flag is set to relaxed, the code
server instead chooses a suitable directory depending on the actual
file structure. If a regular application ebin directory exists, it is
chosen. Otherwise, the directory ebin in the archive is chosen if it
exists. If neither of them exists, the original directory is chosen.
Command-line flag -code_path_choice Choice also affects how module init
interprets the boot script. The interpretation of the explicit code
paths in the boot script can be strict or relaxed. It is particularly
useful to set the flag to relaxed when elaborating with code loading
from archives without editing the boot script. The default is relaxed.
See erts:init(3erl).
CURRENT AND OLD CODE
The code for a module can exist in two variants in a system: current
code and old code. When a module is loaded into the system for the
first time, the module code becomes 'current' and the global export ta-
ble is updated with references to all functions exported from the mod-
ule.
If then a new instance of the module is loaded (for example, because of
error correction), the code of the previous instance becomes 'old', and
all export entries referring to the previous instance are removed. Af-
ter that, the new instance is loaded as for the first time, and becomes
'current'.
Both old and current code for a module are valid, and can even be eval-
uated concurrently. The difference is that exported functions in old
code are unavailable. Hence, a global call cannot be made to an ex-
ported function in old code, but old code can still be evaluated be-
cause of processes lingering in it.
If a third instance of the module is loaded, the code server removes
(purges) the old code and any processes lingering in it are terminated.
Then the third instance becomes 'current' and the previously current
code becomes 'old'.
For more information about old and current code, and how to make a
process switch from old to current code, see section Compilation and
Code Loading in the Erlang Reference Manual.
ARGUMENT TYPES AND INVALID ARGUMENTS
Module and application names are atoms, while file and directory names
are strings. For backward compatibility reasons, some functions accept
both strings and atoms, but a future release will probably only allow
the arguments that are documented.
Functions in this module generally fail with an exception if they are
passed an incorrect type (for example, an integer or a tuple where an
atom is expected). An error tuple is returned if the argument type is
correct, but there are some other errors (for example, a non-existing
directory is specified to set_path/1).
ERROR REASONS FOR CODE-LOADING FUNCTIONS
Functions that load code (such as load_file/1) will return {error,Rea-
son} if the load operation fails. Here follows a description of the
common reasons.
badfile:
The object code has an incorrect format or the module name in the
object code is not the expected module name.
nofile:
No file with object code was found.
not_purged:
The object code could not be loaded because an old version of the
code already existed.
on_load_failure:
The module has an -on_load function that failed when it was called.
sticky_directory:
The object code resides in a sticky directory.
DATA TYPES
load_ret() =
{error, What :: load_error_rsn()} |
{module, Module :: module()}
load_error_rsn() =
badfile | nofile | not_purged | on_load_failure |
sticky_directory
module_status() = not_loaded | loaded | modified | removed
prepared_code()
An opaque term holding prepared code.
EXPORTS
set_path(Path) -> true | {error, What}
Types:
Path = [Dir :: file:filename()]
What = bad_directory
Sets the code path to the list of directories Path.
Returns:
true:
If successful
{error, bad_directory}:
If any Dir is not a directory name
get_path() -> Path
Types:
Path = [Dir :: file:filename()]
Returns the code path.
add_path(Dir) -> add_path_ret()
add_pathz(Dir) -> add_path_ret()
Types:
Dir = file:filename()
add_path_ret() = true | {error, bad_directory}
Adds Dir to the code path. The directory is added as the last
directory in the new path. If Dir already exists in the path, it
is not added.
Returns true if successful, or {error, bad_directory} if Dir is
not the name of a directory.
add_patha(Dir) -> add_path_ret()
Types:
Dir = file:filename()
add_path_ret() = true | {error, bad_directory}
Adds Dir to the beginning of the code path. If Dir exists, it is
removed from the old position in the code path.
Returns true if successful, or {error, bad_directory} if Dir is
not the name of a directory.
add_paths(Dirs) -> ok
add_pathsz(Dirs) -> ok
Types:
Dirs = [Dir :: file:filename()]
Adds the directories in Dirs to the end of the code path. If a
Dir exists, it is not added.
Always returns ok, regardless of the validity of each individual
Dir.
add_pathsa(Dirs) -> ok
Types:
Dirs = [Dir :: file:filename()]
Traverses Dirs and adds each Dir to the beginning of the code
path. This means that the order of Dirs is reversed in the re-
sulting code path. For example, if you add [Dir1,Dir2], the re-
sulting path will be [Dir2,Dir1|OldCodePath].
If a Dir already exists in the code path, it is removed from the
old position.
Always returns ok, regardless of the validity of each individual
Dir.
del_path(NameOrDir) -> boolean() | {error, What}
Types:
NameOrDir = Name | Dir
Name = atom()
Dir = file:filename()
What = bad_name
Deletes a directory from the code path. The argument can be an
atom Name, in which case the directory with the name
.../Name[-Vsn][/ebin] is deleted from the code path. Also, the
complete directory name Dir can be specified as argument.
Returns:
true:
If successful
false:
If the directory is not found
{error, bad_name}:
If the argument is invalid
replace_path(Name, Dir) -> true | {error, What}
Types:
Name = atom()
Dir = file:filename()
What = bad_directory | bad_name | {badarg, term()}
Replaces an old occurrence of a directory named
.../Name[-Vsn][/ebin] in the code path, with Dir. If Name does
not exist, it adds the new directory Dir last in the code path.
The new directory must also be named .../Name[-Vsn][/ebin]. This
function is to be used if a new version of the directory (li-
brary) is added to a running system.
Returns:
true:
If successful
{error, bad_name}:
If Name is not found
{error, bad_directory}:
If Dir does not exist
{error, {badarg, [Name, Dir]}}:
If Name or Dir is invalid
load_file(Module) -> load_ret()
Types:
Module = module()
load_ret() =
{error, What :: load_error_rsn()} |
{module, Module :: module()}
Tries to load the Erlang module Module, using the code path. It
looks for the object code file with an extension corresponding
to the Erlang machine used, for example, Module.beam. The load-
ing fails if the module name found in the object code differs
from the name Module. load_binary/3 must be used to load object
code with a module name that is different from the file name.
Returns {module, Module} if successful, or {error, Reason} if
loading fails. See Error Reasons for Code-Loading Functions for
a description of the possible error reasons.
load_abs(Filename) -> load_ret()
Types:
Filename = file:filename()
load_ret() =
{error, What :: load_error_rsn()} |
{module, Module :: module()}
loaded_filename() =
(Filename :: file:filename()) | loaded_ret_atoms()
loaded_ret_atoms() = cover_compiled | preloaded
Same as load_file(Module), but Filename is an absolute or rela-
tive filename. The code path is not searched. It returns a value
in the same way as load_file/1. Notice that Filename must not
contain the extension (for example, .beam) because load_abs/1
adds the correct extension.
ensure_loaded(Module) -> {module, Module} | {error, What}
Types:
Module = module()
What = embedded | badfile | nofile | on_load_failure
Tries to load a module in the same way as load_file/1, unless
the module is already loaded. However, in embedded mode it does
not load a module that is not already loaded, but returns {er-
ror, embedded} instead. See Error Reasons for Code-Loading Func-
tions for a description of other possible error reasons.
load_binary(Module, Filename, Binary) ->
{module, Module} | {error, What}
Types:
Module = module()
Filename = loaded_filename()
Binary = binary()
What = badarg | load_error_rsn()
loaded_filename() =
(Filename :: file:filename()) | loaded_ret_atoms()
loaded_ret_atoms() = cover_compiled | preloaded
This function can be used to load object code on remote Erlang
nodes. Argument Binary must contain object code for Module.
Filename is only used by the code server to keep a record of
from which file the object code for Module comes. Thus, Filename
is not opened and read by the code server.
Returns {module, Module} if successful, or {error, Reason} if
loading fails. See Error Reasons for Code-Loading Functions for
a description of the possible error reasons.
atomic_load(Modules) -> ok | {error, [{Module, What}]}
Types:
Modules = [Module | {Module, Filename, Binary}]
Module = module()
Filename = file:filename()
Binary = binary()
What =
badfile | nofile | on_load_not_allowed | duplicated |
not_purged | sticky_directory | pending_on_load
Tries to load all of the modules in the list Modules atomically.
That means that either all modules are loaded at the same time,
or none of the modules are loaded if there is a problem with any
of the modules.
Loading can fail for one the following reasons:
badfile:
The object code has an incorrect format or the module name
in the object code is not the expected module name.
nofile:
No file with object code exists.
on_load_not_allowed:
A module contains an -on_load function.
duplicated:
A module is included more than once in Modules.
not_purged:
The object code cannot be loaded because an old version of
the code already exists.
sticky_directory:
The object code resides in a sticky directory.
pending_on_load:
A previously loaded module contains an -on_load function
that never finished.
If it is important to minimize the time that an application is
inactive while changing code, use prepare_loading/1 and fin-
ish_loading/1 instead of atomic_load/1. Here is an example:
{ok,Prepared} = code:prepare_loading(Modules),
%% Put the application into an inactive state or do any
%% other preparation needed before changing the code.
ok = code:finish_loading(Prepared),
%% Resume the application.
prepare_loading(Modules) ->
{ok, Prepared} | {error, [{Module, What}]}
Types:
Modules = [Module | {Module, Filename, Binary}]
Module = module()
Filename = file:filename()
Binary = binary()
Prepared = prepared_code()
What = badfile | nofile | on_load_not_allowed | duplicated
Prepares to load the modules in the list Modules. Finish the
loading by calling finish_loading(Prepared).
This function can fail with one of the following error reasons:
badfile:
The object code has an incorrect format or the module name
in the object code is not the expected module name.
nofile:
No file with object code exists.
on_load_not_allowed:
A module contains an -on_load function.
duplicated:
A module is included more than once in Modules.
finish_loading(Prepared) -> ok | {error, [{Module, What}]}
Types:
Prepared = prepared_code()
Module = module()
What = not_purged | sticky_directory | pending_on_load
Tries to load code for all modules that have been previously
prepared by prepare_loading/1. The loading occurs atomically,
meaning that either all modules are loaded at the same time, or
none of the modules are loaded.
This function can fail with one of the following error reasons:
not_purged:
The object code cannot be loaded because an old version of
the code already exists.
sticky_directory:
The object code resides in a sticky directory.
pending_on_load:
A previously loaded module contains an -on_load function
that never finished.
ensure_modules_loaded(Modules :: [Module]) ->
ok | {error, [{Module, What}]}
Types:
Module = module()
What = badfile | nofile | on_load_failure
Tries to load any modules not already loaded in the list Modules
in the same way as load_file/1.
Returns ok if successful, or {error,[{Module,Reason}]} if load-
ing of some modules fails. See Error Reasons for Code-Loading
Functions for a description of other possible error reasons.
delete(Module) -> boolean()
Types:
Module = module()
Removes the current code for Module, that is, the current code
for Module is made old. This means that processes can continue
to execute the code in the module, but no external function
calls can be made to it.
Returns true if successful, or false if there is old code for
Module that must be purged first, or if Module is not a (loaded)
module.
purge(Module) -> boolean()
Types:
Module = module()
Purges the code for Module, that is, removes code marked as old.
If some processes still linger in the old code, these processes
are killed before the code is removed.
Note:
As of ERTS version 9.0, a process is only considered to be lin-
gering in the code if it has direct references to the code. For
more information see documentation of er-
lang:check_process_code/3, which is used in order to determine
this.
Returns true if successful and any process is needed to be
killed, otherwise false.
soft_purge(Module) -> boolean()
Types:
Module = module()
Purges the code for Module, that is, removes code marked as old,
but only if no processes linger in it.
Note:
As of ERTS version 9.0, a process is only considered to be lin-
gering in the code if it has direct references to the code. For
more information see documentation of er-
lang:check_process_code/3, which is used in order to determine
this.
Returns false if the module cannot be purged because of pro-
cesses lingering in old code, otherwise true.
is_loaded(Module) -> {file, Loaded} | false
Types:
Module = module()
Loaded = loaded_filename()
loaded_filename() =
(Filename :: file:filename()) | loaded_ret_atoms()
Filename is an absolute filename.
loaded_ret_atoms() = cover_compiled | preloaded
Checks if Module is loaded. If it is, {file, Loaded} is re-
turned, otherwise false.
Normally, Loaded is the absolute filename Filename from which
the code is obtained. If the module is preloaded (see
script(5)), Loaded==preloaded. If the module is Cover-compiled
(see cover(3erl)), Loaded==cover_compiled.
all_available() -> [{Module, Filename, Loaded}]
Types:
Module = string()
Filename = loaded_filename()
Loaded = boolean()
loaded_filename() =
(Filename :: file:filename()) | loaded_ret_atoms()
Filename is an absolute filename.
loaded_ret_atoms() = cover_compiled | preloaded
Returns a list of tuples {Module, Filename, Loaded} for all
available modules. A module is considered to be available if it
either is loaded or would be loaded if called. Filename is nor-
mally the absolute filename, as described for is_loaded/1.
all_loaded() -> [{Module, Loaded}]
Types:
Module = module()
Loaded = loaded_filename()
loaded_filename() =
(Filename :: file:filename()) | loaded_ret_atoms()
Filename is an absolute filename.
loaded_ret_atoms() = cover_compiled | preloaded
Returns a list of tuples {Module, Loaded} for all loaded mod-
ules. Loaded is normally the absolute filename, as described for
is_loaded/1.
which(Module) -> Which
Types:
Module = module()
Which = loaded_filename() | non_existing
loaded_filename() =
(Filename :: file:filename()) | loaded_ret_atoms()
loaded_ret_atoms() = cover_compiled | preloaded
If the module is not loaded, this function searches the code
path for the first file containing object code for Module and
returns the absolute filename.
If the module is loaded, it returns the name of the file con-
taining the loaded object code.
If the module is preloaded, preloaded is returned.
If the module is Cover-compiled, cover_compiled is returned.
If the module cannot be found, non_existing is returned.
get_object_code(Module) -> {Module, Binary, Filename} | error
Types:
Module = module()
Binary = binary()
Filename = file:filename()
Searches the code path for the object code of module Module. Re-
turns {Module, Binary, Filename} if successful, otherwise error.
Binary is a binary data object, which contains the object code
for the module. This can be useful if code is to be loaded on a
remote node in a distributed system. For example, loading module
Module on a node Node is done as follows:
...
{_Module, Binary, Filename} = code:get_object_code(Module),
rpc:call(Node, code, load_binary, [Module, Filename, Binary]),
...
get_doc(Mod) -> {ok, Res} | {error, Reason}
Types:
Mod = module()
Res = #docs_v1{}
Reason = non_existing | missing | file:posix()
Searches the code path for EEP-48 style documentation and re-
turns it if available. If no documentation can be found the
function tries to generate documentation from the debug informa-
tion in the module. If no debug information is available, this
function will return {error,missing}.
For more information about the documentation chunk see Documen-
tation Storage in Erl_Docgen's User's Guide.
root_dir() -> file:filename()
Returns the root directory of Erlang/OTP, which is the directory
where it is installed.
Example:
> code:root_dir().
"/usr/local/otp"
lib_dir() -> file:filename()
Returns the library directory, $OTPROOT/lib, where $OTPROOT is
the root directory of Erlang/OTP.
Example:
> code:lib_dir().
"/usr/local/otp/lib"
lib_dir(Name) -> file:filename() | {error, bad_name}
Types:
Name = atom()
Returns the path for the "library directory", the top directory,
for an application Name located under $OTPROOT/lib or on a di-
rectory referred to with environment variable ERL_LIBS.
If a regular directory called Name or Name-Vsn exists in the
code path with an ebin subdirectory, the path to this directory
is returned (not the ebin directory).
If the directory refers to a directory in an archive, the ar-
chive name is stripped away before the path is returned. For ex-
ample, if directory /usr/local/otp/lib/mnesia-4.2.2.ez/mne-
sia-4.2.2/ebin is in the path, /usr/local/otp/lib/mne-
sia-4.2.2/ebin is returned. This means that the library direc-
tory for an application is the same, regardless if the applica-
tion resides in an archive or not.
Example:
> code:lib_dir(mnesia).
"/usr/local/otp/lib/mnesia-4.2.2"
Returns {error, bad_name} if Name is not the name of an applica-
tion under $OTPROOT/lib or on a directory referred to through
environment variable ERL_LIBS. Fails with an exception if Name
has the wrong type.
Warning:
For backward compatibility, Name is also allowed to be a string.
That will probably change in a future release.
lib_dir(Name, SubDir) -> file:filename() | {error, bad_name}
Types:
Name = SubDir = atom()
Returns the path to a subdirectory directly under the top direc-
tory of an application. Normally the subdirectories reside under
the top directory for the application, but when applications at
least partly resides in an archive, the situation is different.
Some of the subdirectories can reside as regular directories
while other reside in an archive file. It is not checked whether
this directory exists.
Example:
> code:lib_dir(megaco, priv).
"/usr/local/otp/lib/megaco-3.9.1.1/priv"
Fails with an exception if Name or SubDir has the wrong type.
compiler_dir() -> file:filename()
Returns the compiler library directory. Equivalent to
code:lib_dir(compiler).
priv_dir(Name) -> file:filename() | {error, bad_name}
Types:
Name = atom()
Returns the path to the priv directory in an application. Equiv-
alent to code:lib_dir(Name, priv).
Warning:
For backward compatibility, Name is also allowed to be a string.
That will probably change in a future release.
objfile_extension() -> nonempty_string()
Returns the object code file extension corresponding to the Er-
lang machine used, namely .beam.
stick_dir(Dir) -> ok | error
Types:
Dir = file:filename()
Marks Dir as sticky.
Returns ok if successful, otherwise error.
unstick_dir(Dir) -> ok | error
Types:
Dir = file:filename()
Unsticks a directory that is marked as sticky.
Returns ok if successful, otherwise error.
is_sticky(Module) -> boolean()
Types:
Module = module()
Returns true if Module is the name of a module that has been
loaded from a sticky directory (in other words: an attempt to
reload the module will fail), or false if Module is not a loaded
module or is not sticky.
where_is_file(Filename) -> non_existing | Absname
Types:
Filename = Absname = file:filename()
Searches the code path for Filename, a file of arbitrary type.
If found, the full name is returned. non_existing is returned if
the file cannot be found. The function can be useful, for exam-
ple, to locate application resource files.
clash() -> ok
Searches all directories in the code path for module names with
identical names and writes a report to stdout.
module_status() -> [{module(), module_status()}]
Types:
module_status() = not_loaded | loaded | modified | removed
See module_status/1 and all_loaded/0 for details.
module_status(Module :: module() | [module()]) ->
module_status() | [{module(), module_status()}]
Types:
module_status() = not_loaded | loaded | modified | removed
The status of a module can be one of:
not_loaded:
If Module is not currently loaded.
loaded:
If Module is loaded and the object file exists and contains
the same code.
removed:
If Module is loaded but no corresponding object file can be
found in the code path.
modified:
If Module is loaded but the object file contains code with a
different MD5 checksum.
Preloaded modules are always reported as loaded, without in-
specting the contents on disk. Cover compiled modules will al-
ways be reported as modified if an object file exists, or as re-
moved otherwise. Modules whose load path is an empty string
(which is the convention for auto-generated code) will only be
reported as loaded or not_loaded.
For modules that have native code loaded (see is_module_na-
tive/1), the MD5 sum of the native code in the object file is
used for the comparison, if it exists; the Beam code in the file
is ignored. Reversely, for modules that do not currently have
native code loaded, any native code in the file will be ignored.
See also modified_modules/0.
modified_modules() -> [module()]
Returns the list of all currently loaded modules for which mod-
ule_status/1 returns modified. See also all_loaded/0.
is_module_native(Module) -> true | false | undefined
Types:
Module = module()
Returns:
true:
If Module is the name of a loaded module that has native
code loaded
false:
If Module is loaded but does not have native code
undefined:
If Module is not loaded
get_mode() -> embedded | interactive
Returns an atom describing the mode of the code server: interac-
tive or embedded.
This information is useful when an external entity (for example,
an IDE) provides additional code for a running node. If the code
server is in interactive mode, it only has to add the path to
the code. If the code server is in embedded mode, the code must
be loaded with load_binary/3.
Ericsson AB kernel 7.0 code(3erl)