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NAME
compile - Erlang Compiler
DESCRIPTION
This module provides an interface to the standard Erlang compiler. It can generate either a new file,
which contains the object code, or return a binary, which can be loaded directly.
DATA TYPES
option() = term()
See file/2 for detailed description
forms() = term()
List of Erlang abstract or Core Erlang format representations, as used by forms/2
EXPORTS
env_compiler_options()
Return compiler options given via the environment variable ERL_COMPILER_OPTIONS. If the value is a
list, it is returned as is. If it is not a list, it is put into a list.
file(File)
Is the same as file(File, [verbose,report_errors,report_warnings]).
file(File, Options) -> CompRet
Types:
CompRet = ModRet | BinRet | ErrRet
ModRet = {ok,ModuleName} | {ok,ModuleName,Warnings}
BinRet = {ok,ModuleName,Binary} | {ok,ModuleName,Binary,Warnings}
ErrRet = error | {error,Errors,Warnings}
Compiles the code in the file File, which is an Erlang source code file without the .erl
extension. Options determine the behavior of the compiler.
Returns {ok,ModuleName} if successful, or error if there are errors. An object code file is
created if the compilation succeeds without errors. It is considered to be an error if the module
name in the source code is not the same as the basename of the output file.
Available options:
brief:
Restricts error and warning messages to a single line of output. As of OTP 24, the compiler
will by default also display the part of the source code that the message refers to.
basic_validation:
This option is a fast way to test whether a module will compile successfully. This is useful
for code generators that want to verify the code that they emit. No code is generated. If
warnings are enabled, warnings generated by the erl_lint module (such as warnings for unused
variables and functions) are also returned.
Use option strong_validation to generate all warnings that the compiler would generate.
strong_validation:
Similar to option basic_validation. No code is generated, but more compiler passes are run to
ensure that warnings generated by the optimization passes are generated (such as clauses that
will not match, or expressions that are guaranteed to fail with an exception at runtime).
binary:
The compiler returns the object code in a binary instead of creating an object file. If
successful, the compiler returns {ok,ModuleName,Binary}.
bin_opt_info:
The compiler will emit informational warnings about binary matching optimizations (both
successful and unsuccessful). For more information, see the section about bin_opt_info in the
Efficiency Guide.
{compile_info, [{atom(), term()}]}:
Allows compilers built on top of compile to attach extra compilation metadata to the
compile_info chunk in the generated beam file.
It is advised for compilers to remove all non-deterministic information if the deterministic
option is supported and it was supplied by the user.
compressed:
The compiler will compress the generated object code, which can be useful for embedded
systems.
debug_info:
Includes debug information in the form of Erlang Abstract Format in the debug_info chunk of
the compiled beam module. Tools such as Debugger, Xref, and Cover require the debug
information to be included.
Warning: Source code can be reconstructed from the debug information. Use encrypted debug
information (encrypt_debug_info) to prevent this.
For details, see beam_lib(3erl).
{debug_info, {Backend, Data}}:
Includes custom debug information in the form of a Backend module with custom Data in the
compiled beam module. The given module must implement a debug_info/4 function and is
responsible for generating different code representations, as described in the debug_info
under beam_lib(3erl).
Warning: Source code can be reconstructed from the debug information. Use encrypted debug
information (encrypt_debug_info) to prevent this.
{debug_info_key,KeyString}:
{debug_info_key,{Mode,KeyString}}:
Includes debug information, but encrypts it so that it cannot be accessed without supplying
the key. (To give option debug_info as well is allowed, but not necessary.) Using this option
is a good way to always have the debug information available during testing, yet protecting
the source code.
Mode is the type of crypto algorithm to be used for encrypting the debug information. The
default (and currently the only) type is des3_cbc.
For details, see beam_lib(3erl).
encrypt_debug_info:
Similar to the debug_info_key option, but the key is read from an .erlang.crypt file.
For details, see beam_lib(3erl).
deterministic:
Omit the options and source tuples in the list returned by Module:module_info(compile), and
reduce the paths in stack traces to the module name alone. This option will make it easier to
achieve reproducible builds.
{feature, Feature, enable | disable}:
Enable (disable) the feature Feature during compilation. The special feature all can be used
to enable (disable) all features.
Note:
This option has no effect when used in a -compile(..) attribute. Instead, the -feature(..)
directive (below) should be used.
A feature can also be enabled (disabled) using the -feature(Feature, enable | disable). module
directive. Note that this directive can only be present in a prefix of the file, before exports
and function definitions. This is the preferred method of enabling and disabling features, since
it is a local property of a module.
makedep:
Produces a Makefile rule to track headers dependencies. No object file is produced.
By default, this rule is written to <File>.Pbeam. However, if option binary is set, nothing is
written and the rule is returned in Binary.
The output will be encoded in UTF-8.
For example, if you have the following module:
-module(module).
-include_lib("eunit/include/eunit.hrl").
-include("header.hrl").
The Makefile rule generated by this option looks as follows:
module.beam: module.erl \
/usr/local/lib/erlang/lib/eunit/include/eunit.hrl \
header.hrl
makedep_side_effect:
The dependencies are created as a side effect to the normal compilation process. This means
that the object file will also be produced. This option override the makedep option.
{makedep_output, Output}:
Writes generated rules to Output instead of the default <File>.Pbeam. Output can be a filename
or an io_device(). To write to stdout, use standard_io. However, if binary is set, nothing is
written to Output and the result is returned to the caller with {ok, ModuleName, Binary}.
{makedep_target, Target}:
Changes the name of the rule emitted to Target.
makedep_quote_target:
Characters in Target special to make(1) are quoted.
makedep_add_missing:
Considers missing headers as generated files and adds them to the dependencies.
makedep_phony:
Adds a phony target for each dependency.
'P':
Produces a listing of the parsed code, after preprocessing and parse transforms, in the file
<File>.P. No object file is produced.
'E':
Produces a listing of the code, after all source code transformations have been performed, in
the file <File>.E. No object file is produced.
'S':
Produces a listing of the assembler code in the file <File>.S. No object file is produced.
recv_opt_info:
The compiler will emit informational warnings about selective receive optimizations (both
successful and unsuccessful). For more information, see the section about selective receive
optimization in the Efficiency Guide.
report_errors/report_warnings:
Causes errors/warnings to be printed as they occur.
report:
A short form for both report_errors and report_warnings.
return_errors:
If this flag is set, {error,ErrorList,WarningList} is returned when there are errors.
return_warnings:
If this flag is set, an extra field, containing WarningList, is added to the tuples returned
on success.
warnings_as_errors:
Causes warnings to be treated as errors. This option is supported since R13B04.
{error_location,line | column}:
If the value of this flag is line, the location ErrorLocation of warnings and errors is a line
number. If the value is column, ErrorLocation includes both a line number and a column number.
Default is column. This option is supported since Erlang/OTP 24.0.
If the value of this flag is column, debug information includes column information.
return:
A short form for both return_errors and return_warnings.
verbose:
Causes more verbose information from the compiler, describing what it is doing.
{source,FileName}:
Overrides the source file name as presented in module_info(compile) and stack traces.
absolute_source:
Turns the source file name (as presented in module_info(compile) and stack traces) into an
absolute path, which helps external tools like perf and gdb find Erlang source code.
{outdir,Dir}:
Sets a new directory for the object code. The current directory is used for output, except
when a directory has been specified with this option.
export_all:
Causes all functions in the module to be exported.
{i,Dir}:
Adds Dir to the list of directories to be searched when including a file. When encountering an
-include or -include_lib directive, the compiler searches for header files in the following
directories:
* ".", the current working directory of the file server
* The base name of the compiled file
* The directories specified using option i; the directory specified last is searched first
{d,Macro}:
{d,Macro,Value}:
Defines a macro Macro to have the value Value. Macro is of type atom, and Value can be any
term. The default Value is true.
{parse_transform,Module}:
Causes the parse transformation function Module:parse_transform/2 to be applied to the parsed
code before the code is checked for errors.
from_abstr:
The input file is expected to contain Erlang terms representing forms in abstract format
(default file suffix ".abstr"). Note that the format of such terms can change between
releases.
See also the no_lint option.
from_asm:
The input file is expected to be assembler code (default file suffix ".S"). Notice that the
format of assembler files is not documented, and can change between releases.
from_core:
The input file is expected to be core code (default file suffix ".core"). Notice that the
format of core files is not documented, and can change between releases.
no_spawn_compiler_process:
By default, all code is compiled in a separate process which is terminated at the end of
compilation. However, some tools, like Dialyzer or compilers for other BEAM languages, may
already manage their own worker processes and spawning an extra process may slow the
compilation down. In such scenarios, you can pass this option to stop the compiler from
spawning an additional process.
no_strict_record_tests:
This option is not recommended.
By default, the generated code for operation Record#record_tag.field verifies that the tuple
Record has the correct size for the record, and that the first element is the tag record_tag.
Use this option to omit the verification code.
no_error_module_mismatch:
Normally the compiler verifies that the module name given in the source code is the same as
the base name of the output file and refuses to generate an output file if there is a
mismatch. If you have a good reason (or other reason) for having a module name unrelated to
the name of the output file, this option disables that verification (there will not even be a
warning if there is a mismatch).
{no_auto_import,[{F,A}, ...]}:
Makes the function F/A no longer being auto-imported from the erlang module, which resolves
BIF name clashes. This option must be used to resolve name clashes with BIFs auto-imported
before R14A, if it is needed to call the local function with the same name as an auto-imported
BIF without module prefix.
Note:
As from R14A and forward, the compiler resolves calls without module prefix to local or imported
functions before trying with auto-imported BIFs. If the BIF is to be called, use the erlang
module prefix in the call, not {no_auto_import,[{F,A}, ...]}.
If this option is written in the source code, as a -compile directive, the syntax F/A can be
used instead of {F,A}, for example:
-compile({no_auto_import,[error/1]}).
no_auto_import:
Do not auto-import any functions from erlang module.
no_line_info:
Omits line number information to produce a slightly smaller output file.
no_lint:
Skips the pass that checks for errors and warnings. Only applicable together with the
from_abstr option. This is mainly for implementations of other languages on top of Erlang,
which have already done their own checks to guarantee correctness of the code.
Caveat: When this option is used, there are no guarantees that the code output by the compiler
is correct and safe to use. The responsibility for correctness lies on the code or person
generating the abstract format. If the code contains errors, the compiler may crash or produce
unsafe code.
{extra_chunks, [{binary(), binary()}]}:
Pass extra chunks to be stored in the .beam file. The extra chunks must be a list of tuples
with a four byte binary as chunk name followed by a binary with the chunk contents. See
beam_lib for more information.
If warnings are turned on (option report_warnings described earlier), the following options
control what type of warnings that are generated. Except from {warn_format,Verbosity}, the
following options have two forms:
* A warn_xxx form, to turn on the warning.
* A nowarn_xxx form, to turn off the warning.
In the descriptions that follow, the form that is used to change the default value are listed.
{warn_format, Verbosity}:
Causes warnings to be emitted for malformed format strings as arguments to io:format and
similar functions.
Verbosity selects the number of warnings:
* 0 = No warnings
* 1 = Warnings for invalid format strings and incorrect number of arguments
* 2 = Warnings also when the validity cannot be checked, for example, when the format string
argument is a variable.
The default verbosity is 1. Verbosity 0 can also be selected by option nowarn_format.
nowarn_bif_clash:
This option is removed, it generates a fatal error if used.
Warning:
As from beginning with R14A, the compiler no longer calls the auto-imported BIF if the name
clashes with a local or explicitly imported function, and a call without explicit module name is
issued. Instead, the local or imported function is called. Still accepting nowarn_bif_clash
would make a module calling functions clashing with auto-imported BIFs compile with both the old
and new compilers, but with completely different semantics. This is why the option is removed.
The use of this option has always been discouraged. As from R14A, it is an error to use it.
To resolve BIF clashes, use explicit module names or the {no_auto_import,[F/A]} compiler
directive.
{nowarn_bif_clash, FAs}:
This option is removed, it generates a fatal error if used.
Warning:
The use of this option has always been discouraged. As from R14A, it is an error to use it.
To resolve BIF clashes, use explicit module names or the {no_auto_import,[F/A]} compiler
directive.
nowarn_export_all:
Turns off warnings for uses of the export_all option. Default is to emit a warning if option
export_all is also given.
warn_export_vars:
Emits warnings for all implicitly exported variables referred to after the primitives where
they were first defined. By default, the compiler only emits warnings for exported variables
referred to in a pattern.
nowarn_shadow_vars:
Turns off warnings for "fresh" variables in functional objects or list comprehensions with the
same name as some already defined variable. Default is to emit warnings for such variables.
warn_keywords:
Emits warnings when the code contains atoms that are used as keywords in some feature. When
the feature is enabled, any occurrences will lead to a syntax error. To prevent this, the atom
has to be renamed or quoted.
nowarn_unused_function:
Turns off warnings for unused local functions. Default is to emit warnings for all local
functions that are not called directly or indirectly by an exported function. The compiler
does not include unused local functions in the generated beam file, but the warning is still
useful to keep the source code cleaner.
{nowarn_unused_function, FAs}:
Turns off warnings for unused local functions like nowarn_unused_function does, but only for
the mentioned local functions. FAs is a tuple {Name,Arity} or a list of such tuples.
nowarn_deprecated_function:
Turns off warnings for calls to deprecated functions. Default is to emit warnings for every
call to a function known by the compiler to be deprecated. Notice that the compiler does not
know about attribute -deprecated(), but uses an assembled list of deprecated functions in
Erlang/OTP. To do a more general check, the Xref tool can be used. See also xref(3erl) and the
function xref:m/1, also accessible through the function c:xm/1.
{nowarn_deprecated_function, MFAs}:
Turns off warnings for calls to deprecated functions like nowarn_deprecated_function does, but
only for the mentioned functions. MFAs is a tuple {Module,Name,Arity} or a list of such
tuples.
nowarn_deprecated_type:
Turns off warnings for use of deprecated types. Default is to emit warnings for every use of a
type known by the compiler to be deprecated.
nowarn_removed:
Turns off warnings for calls to functions that have been removed. Default is to emit warnings
for every call to a function known by the compiler to have been recently removed from
Erlang/OTP.
{nowarn_removed, ModulesOrMFAs}:
Turns off warnings for calls to modules or functions that have been removed. Default is to
emit warnings for every call to a function known by the compiler to have been recently removed
from Erlang/OTP.
nowarn_obsolete_guard:
Turns off warnings for calls to old type testing BIFs, such as pid/1 and list/1. See the
Erlang Reference Manual for a complete list of type testing BIFs and their old equivalents.
Default is to emit warnings for calls to old type testing BIFs.
warn_unused_import:
Emits warnings for unused imported functions. Default is to emit no warnings for unused
imported functions.
nowarn_underscore_match:
By default, warnings are emitted when a variable that begins with an underscore is matched
after being bound. Use this option to turn off this kind of warning.
nowarn_unused_vars:
By default, warnings are emitted for unused variables, except for variables beginning with an
underscore ("Prolog style warnings"). Use this option to turn off this kind of warning.
nowarn_unused_record:
Turns off warnings for unused record definitions. Default is to emit warnings for unused
locally defined records.
{nowarn_unused_record, RecordNames}:
Turns off warnings for unused record definitions. Default is to emit warnings for unused
locally defined records.
nowarn_unused_type:
Turns off warnings for unused type declarations. Default is to emit warnings for unused local
type declarations.
nowarn_nif_inline:
By default, warnings are emitted when inlining is enabled in a module that may load NIFs, as
the compiler may inline NIF fallbacks by accident. Use this option to turn off this kind of
warnings.
warn_missing_spec:
By default, warnings are not emitted when a specification (or contract) for an exported
function is not given. Use this option to turn on this kind of warning.
warn_missing_spec_all:
By default, warnings are not emitted when a specification (or contract) for an exported or
unexported function is not given. Use this option to turn on this kind of warning.
Other kinds of warnings are opportunistic warnings. They are generated when the compiler happens
to notice potential issues during optimization and code generation.
Note:
The compiler does not warn for expressions that it does not attempt to optimize. For example, the
compiler will emit a warning for 1/0 but not for X/0, because 1/0 is a constant expression that
the compiler will attempt to evaluate.
The absence of warnings does not mean that there are no remaining errors in the code.
Opportunistic warnings can be disabled using the following options:
nowarn_opportunistic:
Disable all opportunistic warnings.
nowarn_failed:
Disable warnings for expressions that will always fail (such as atom+42).
nowarn_ignored:
Disable warnings for expressions whose values are ignored.
nowarn_nomatch:
Disable warnings for patterns that will never match (such as a=b) and for guards that always
evaluate to false.
Note:
All options, except the include path ({i,Dir}), can also be given in the file with attribute
-compile([Option,...]). Attribute -compile() is allowed after the function definitions.
Note:
Before OTP 22, the option {nowarn_deprecated_function, MFAs} was only recognized when given in the
file with attribute -compile(). (The option {nowarn_unused_function,FAs} was incorrectly
documented to only work in a file, but it also worked when given in the option list.) Starting
from OTP 22, all options that can be given in the file can also be given in the option list.
For debugging of the compiler, or for pure curiosity, the intermediate code generated by each
compiler pass can be inspected. To print a complete list of the options to produce list files,
type compile:options() at the Erlang shell prompt. The options are printed in the order that the
passes are executed. If more than one listing option is used, the one representing the earliest
pass takes effect.
Unrecognized options are ignored.
Both WarningList and ErrorList have the following format:
[{FileName,[ErrorInfo]}].
ErrorInfo is described later in this section. The filename is included here, as the compiler uses
the Erlang pre-processor epp, which allows the code to be included in other files. It is therefore
important to know to which file the location of an error or a warning refers.
forms(Forms)
Is the same as forms(Forms, [verbose,report_errors,report_warnings]).
forms(Forms, Options) -> CompRet
Types:
Forms = forms()
forms() = [erl_parse:abstract_form] | cerl:c_module()
Options = [option()]
CompRet = BinRet | ErrRet
BinRet = {ok,ModuleName,BinaryOrCode} | {ok,ModuleName,BinaryOrCode,Warnings}
ModuleName = module()
BinaryOrCode = binary() | term()
ErrRet = error | {error,Errors,Warnings}
Warnings = Errors = [{file:filename(), [{erl_anno:location() | 'none', module(), term()}]}]
Analogous to file/1, but takes a list of forms (in either Erlang abstract or Core Erlang format
representation) as first argument. Option binary is implicit, that is, no object code file is
produced. For options that normally produce a listing file, such as 'E', the internal format for
that compiler pass (an Erlang term, usually not a binary) is returned instead of a binary.
format_error(ErrorDescriptor) -> chars()
Types:
ErrorDescriptor = errordesc()
Uses an ErrorDescriptor and returns a deep list of characters that describes the error. This
function is usually called implicitly when an ErrorInfo structure (described in section Error
Information) is processed.
output_generated(Options) -> true | false
Types:
Options = [term()]
Determines whether the compiler generates a beam file with the given options. true means that a
beam file is generated. false means that the compiler generates some listing file, returns a
binary, or merely checks the syntax of the source code.
noenv_file(File, Options) -> CompRet
Works like file/2, except that the environment variable ERL_COMPILER_OPTIONS is not consulted.
noenv_forms(Forms, Options) -> CompRet
Works like forms/2, except that the environment variable ERL_COMPILER_OPTIONS is not consulted.
noenv_output_generated(Options) -> true | false
Types:
Options = [term()]
Works like output_generated/1, except that the environment variable ERL_COMPILER_OPTIONS is not
consulted.
DEFAULT COMPILER OPTIONS
The (host operating system) environment variable ERL_COMPILER_OPTIONS can be used to give default
compiler options. Its value must be a valid Erlang term. If the value is a list, it is used as is. If it
is not a list, it is put into a list.
The list is appended to any options given to file/2, forms/2, and output_generated/2. Use the alternative
functions noenv_file/2, noenv_forms/2, or noenv_output_generated/2 if you do not want the environment
variable to be consulted, for example, if you are calling the compiler recursively from inside a parse
transform.
The list can be retrieved with env_compiler_options/0.
INLINING
The compiler can do function inlining within an Erlang module. Inlining means that a call to a function
is replaced with the function body with the arguments replaced with the actual values. The semantics are
preserved, except if exceptions are generated in the inlined code. Exceptions are reported as occurring
in the function the body was inlined into. Also, function_clause exceptions are converted to similar
case_clause exceptions.
When a function is inlined, the original function is kept if it is exported (either by an explicit export
or if the option export_all was given) or if not all calls to the function are inlined.
Inlining does not necessarily improve running time. For example, inlining can increase Beam stack use,
which probably is detrimental to performance for recursive functions.
Inlining is never default. It must be explicitly enabled with a compiler option or a -compile() attribute
in the source module.
To enable inlining, either use the option inline to let the compiler decide which functions to inline, or
{inline,[{Name,Arity},...]} to have the compiler inline all calls to the given functions. If the option
is given inside a compile directive in an Erlang module, {Name,Arity} can be written as Name/Arity.
Example of explicit inlining:
-compile({inline,[pi/0]}).
pi() -> 3.1416.
Example of implicit inlining:
-compile(inline).
The option {inline_size,Size} controls how large functions that are allowed to be inlined. Default is 24,
which keeps the size of the inlined code roughly the same as the un-inlined version (only relatively
small functions are inlined).
Example:
%% Aggressive inlining - will increase code size.
-compile(inline).
-compile({inline_size,100}).
INLINING OF LIST FUNCTIONS
The compiler can also inline various list manipulation functions from the module list in STDLIB.
This feature must be explicitly enabled with a compiler option or a -compile() attribute in the source
module.
To enable inlining of list functions, use option inline_list_funcs.
The following functions are inlined:
* lists:all/2
* lists:any/2
* lists:foreach/2
* lists:map/2
* lists:flatmap/2
* lists:filter/2
* lists:foldl/3
* lists:foldr/3
* lists:mapfoldl/3
* lists:mapfoldr/3
PARSE TRANSFORMATIONS
Parse transformations are used when a programmer wants to use Erlang syntax but with different semantics.
The original Erlang code is then transformed into other Erlang code.
See erl_id_trans(3erl) for an example and an explanation of the function parse_transform_info/0.
ERROR INFORMATION
The ErrorInfo mentioned earlier is the standard ErrorInfo structure, which is returned from all I/O
modules. It has the following format:
{ErrorLocation, Module, ErrorDescriptor}
ErrorLocation is the atom none if the error does not correspond to a specific location, for example, if
the source file does not exist.
A string describing the error is obtained with the following call:
Module:format_error(ErrorDescriptor)
SEE ALSO
epp(3erl), erl_id_trans(3erl), erl_lint(3erl), beam_lib(3erl)