6.4 Inferred Linking

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2 | Syntactic Forms
3 | Datatypes
4 | Structures
5 | Classes and Objects
6 | Units
7 | Contracts
8 | Pattern Matching
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10 | Concurrency and Parallelism
11 | Macros
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14 | Operating System
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▼ | 6 | Units

6.1 | Creating Units
6.2 | Invoking Units
6.3 | Linking Units and Creating Compound Units
6.4 | Inferred Linking
6.5 | Generating A Unit from Context
6.6 | Structural Matching
6.7 | Extending the Syntax of Signatures
6.8 | Unit Utilities
6.9 | Unit Contracts
6.10 | Single-Unit Modules
6.11 | Single-Signature Modules
6.12 | Transformer Helpers

On this page:

define-unit
compound-unit/ infer
define-compound-unit
define-compound-unit/ infer
define-unit-binding
invoke-unit/ infer
define-values/ invoke-unit/ infer

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#### 6.4`` Inferred Linking

> > syntax
> > (define-unit unit-id
> > (import tagged-sig-spec ...)
> > (export tagged-sig-spec ...)
> > init-depends-decl
> > unit-body-expr-or-defn
> > ...)

Binds unit-id to both a unit and static information about the unit.

Evaluating a reference to a unit-id bound by define-unit produces a unit, just like evaluating an id bound by (define id (unit ...)). In addition, however, unit-id can be used in compound-unit/infer. See unit for information on tagged-sig-spec, init-depends-decl, and unit-body-expr-or-defn.

> > syntax
> > (compound-unit/infer
> > (import tagged-infer-link-import ...)
> > (export tagged-infer-link-export ...)
> > (link infer-linkage-decl ...))
> tagged-infer-link-import |  | = |  | tagged-sig-id
> |  | | |  | (link-id : tagged-sig-id)
> tagged-infer-link-export |  | = |  | (tag id infer-link-export)
> |  | | |  | infer-link-export
> infer-link-export |  | = |  | link-id
> |  | | |  | sig-id
> infer-linkage-decl |  | = |  |
> ((link-binding ...) unit-id
> tagged-link-id ...)
> |  | | |  | unit-id

Like compound-unit. Syntactically, the difference between compound-unit and compound-unit/infer is that the unit-expr for a linked unit is replaced with a unit-id, where a unit-id is bound by define-unit (or one of the other unit-binding forms that we introduce later in this section). Furthermore, an import can name just a sig-id without locally binding a link-id, and an export can be based on a sig-id instead of a link-id, and a declaration in the link clause can be simply a unit-id with no specified exports or imports.

The compound-unit/infer form expands to compound-unit by adding sig-ids as needed to the import clause, by replacing sig-ids in the export clause by link-ids, and by completing the declarations of the link clause. This completion is based on static information associated with each unit-id. Links and exports can be inferred when all signatures exported by the linked units are distinct from each other and from all imported signatures, and when all imported signatures are distinct. Two signatures are distinct only if they share no ancestor through extends.

The long form of a link declaration can be used to resolve ambiguity by giving names to some of a unit’s exports and supplying specific bindings for some of a unit’s imports. The long form need not name all of a unit’s exports or supply all of a unit’s imports if the remaining parts can be inferred.

Like compound-unit, the compound-unit/infer form produces a (compound) unit without statically binding information about the result unit’s imports and exports. That is, compound-unit/infer consumes static information, but it does not generate it. Two additional forms, define-compound-unit and define-compound-unit/infer, generate static information (where the former does not consume static information).

> > syntax
> > (define-compound-unit id
> > (import link-binding ...)
> > (export tagged-link-id ...)
> > (link linkage-decl ...))

Like compound-unit, but binds static information about the compound unit like define-unit.

> > syntax
> > (define-compound-unit/infer id
> > (import link-binding ...)
> > (export tagged-infer-link-export ...)
> > (link infer-linkage-decl ...))

Like compound-unit/infer, but binds static information about the compound unit like define-unit.

> > syntax
> > (define-unit-binding unit-id
> > unit-expr
> > (import tagged-sig-spec ...+)
> > (export tagged-sig-spec ...+)
> > init-depends-decl)

Like define-unit, but the unit implementation is determined from an existing unit produced by unit-expr. The imports and exports of the unit produced by unit-expr must be consistent with the declared imports and exports, otherwise the exn:fail:contract exception is raised when the define-unit-binding form is evaluated.

> syntax (invoke-unit/infer unit-spec)
> unit-spec |  | = |  | unit-id
> |  | | |  | (link link-unit-id ...)

Like invoke-unit, but uses static information associated with unit-id to infer which imports must be assembled from the current context. If given a link form containing multiple link-unit-ids, then the units are first linked via define-compound-unit/infer.

> syntax (define-values/invoke-unit/infer maybe-exports unit-spec)
> maybe-exports |  | = |  |
> |  | | |  | (export tagged-sig-spec ...)
> unit-spec |  | = |  | unit-id
> |  | | |  | (link link-unit-id ...)

Like define-values/invoke-unit, but uses static information associated with unit-id to infer which imports must be assembled from the current context and which exports should be bound by the definition. If given a link form containing multiple link-unit-ids, then the units are first linked via define-compound-unit/infer.
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