Modules and imports

The module system is file-based: each file acts as a module. For example, a file hello.sx is imported from another file by binding a use expression to a value:

val hello = use("hello.sx")

A value bound to a use expression at the top level that is not used is a compile-time error.

The filename core.sx has special significance: it provides an implicit entry point for a group of modules. For example, if a directory named some_dir contains a core.sx file, the module can be imported from another directory as follows:

val some_mod = use("./path/to/some_dir")

The functions in ./path/to/some_dir/core.sx are then accessible through some_mod.

The Spectre standard library uses core.sx to provide clean entry points to standard-library module groups. For example:

val math = use("std/math")

This resolves to <install-dir>/spectrelib/math/core.sx.

Module imports cannot be marked as mutable, cannot have type annotations, and cannot appear in nested, non-top-level contexts.