1compile(3)                 Erlang Module Definition                 compile(3)
2
3
4

NAME

6       compile - Erlang Compiler
7

DESCRIPTION

9       This  module  provides an interface to the standard Erlang compiler. It
10       can generate either a new file, which contains the object code, or  re‐
11       turn a binary, which can be loaded directly.
12

DATA TYPES

14       option() = term()
15
16              See file/2 for detailed description
17
18       forms() = term()
19
20              List  of  Erlang abstract or Core Erlang format representations,
21              as used by forms/2
22

EXPORTS

24       env_compiler_options()
25
26              Return compiler  options  given  via  the  environment  variable
27              ERL_COMPILER_OPTIONS.  If the value is a list, it is returned as
28              is. If it is not a list, it is put into a list.
29
30       file(File)
31
32              Is the same  as  file(File,  [verbose,report_errors,report_warn‐
33              ings]).
34
35       file(File, Options) -> CompRet
36
37              Types:
38
39                 CompRet = ModRet | BinRet | ErrRet
40                 ModRet = {ok,ModuleName} | {ok,ModuleName,Warnings}
41                 BinRet = {ok,ModuleName,Binary} | {ok,ModuleName,Binary,Warn‐
42                 ings}
43                 ErrRet = error | {error,Errors,Warnings}
44
45              Compiles the code in the file File, which is  an  Erlang  source
46              code  file without the .erl extension. Options determine the be‐
47              havior of the compiler.
48
49              Returns {ok,ModuleName} if successful, or error if there are er‐
50              rors. An object code file is created if the compilation succeeds
51              without errors. It is considered to be an error  if  the  module
52              name  in  the source code is not the same as the basename of the
53              output file.
54
55              Available options:
56
57                brief:
58                  Restricts error and warning messages to  a  single  line  of
59                  output. As of OTP 24, the compiler will by default also dis‐
60                  play the part of the source code that the message refers to.
61
62                basic_validation:
63                  This option is a fast way to test whether a module will com‐
64                  pile  successfully.  This is useful for code generators that
65                  want to verify the code that they emit. No  code  is  gener‐
66                  ated.  If  warnings  are  enabled, warnings generated by the
67                  erl_lint module (such as warnings for unused  variables  and
68                  functions) are also returned.
69
70                  Use  option  strong_validation to generate all warnings that
71                  the compiler would generate.
72
73                strong_validation:
74                  Similar to option basic_validation. No  code  is  generated,
75                  but  more  compiler  passes  are run to ensure that warnings
76                  generated by the optimization passes are generated (such  as
77                  clauses that will not match, or expressions that are guaran‐
78                  teed to fail with an exception at runtime).
79
80                binary:
81                  The compiler returns the object code in a binary instead  of
82                  creating an object file. If successful, the compiler returns
83                  {ok,ModuleName,Binary}.
84
85                bin_opt_info:
86                  The compiler will emit informational warnings  about  binary
87                  matching  optimizations  (both successful and unsuccessful).
88                  For more information, see the section about bin_opt_info  in
89                  the Efficiency Guide.
90
91                {compile_info, [{atom(), term()}]}:
92                  Allows  compilers  built  on  top of compile to attach extra
93                  compilation metadata to the compile_info chunk in the gener‐
94                  ated beam file.
95
96                  It  is advised for compilers to remove all non-deterministic
97                  information if the deterministic option is supported and  it
98                  was supplied by the user.
99
100                compressed:
101                  The  compiler will compress the generated object code, which
102                  can be useful for embedded systems.
103
104                debug_info:
105
106
107                  Includes debug information in the form of   Erlang  Abstract
108                  Format  in the debug_info chunk of the compiled beam module.
109                  Tools such as Debugger, Xref, and Cover  require  the  debug
110                  information to be included.
111
112                  Warning: Source code can be reconstructed from the debug in‐
113                  formation.  Use  encrypted  debug  information  (encrypt_de‐
114                  bug_info) to prevent this.
115
116                  For details, see beam_lib(3).
117
118                {debug_info, {Backend, Data}}:
119
120
121                  Includes  custom  debug information in the form of a Backend
122                  module with custom Data in the  compiled  beam  module.  The
123                  given  module  must implement a debug_info/4 function and is
124                  responsible for generating different  code  representations,
125                  as described in the debug_info under beam_lib(3).
126
127                  Warning: Source code can be reconstructed from the debug in‐
128                  formation.  Use  encrypted  debug  information  (encrypt_de‐
129                  bug_info) to prevent this.
130
131                {debug_info_key,KeyString}:
132
133
134                {debug_info_key,{Mode,KeyString}}:
135
136
137                  Includes  debug information, but encrypts it so that it can‐
138                  not be accessed without supplying the key. (To  give  option
139                  debug_info  as  well  is  allowed, but not necessary.) Using
140                  this option is a good way to always have the debug  informa‐
141                  tion  available  during  testing,  yet protecting the source
142                  code.
143
144                  Mode is the type of crypto algorithm to be used for encrypt‐
145                  ing  the  debug  information. The default (and currently the
146                  only) type is des3_cbc.
147
148                  For details, see beam_lib(3).
149
150                encrypt_debug_info:
151
152
153                  Similar to the debug_info_key option, but the  key  is  read
154                  from an .erlang.crypt file.
155
156                  For details, see beam_lib(3).
157
158                deterministic:
159                  Omit  the  options and source tuples in the list returned by
160                  Module:module_info(compile), and reduce the paths  in  stack
161                  traces  to  the  module name alone. This option will make it
162                  easier to achieve reproducible builds.
163
164                {feature, Feature, enable | disable}:
165                  Enable (disable) the feature Feature during compilation. The
166                  special feature all can be used to enable (disable) all fea‐
167                  tures.
168
169            Note:
170                This option has no effect when used in a  -compile(..)  attri‐
171                bute.  Instead,  the  -feature(..) directive (below) should be
172                used.
173
174                A feature can also  be  enabled  (disabled)  using  the  -fea‐
175                ture(Feature,  enable  | disable). module directive. Note that
176                this directive can only be present in a prefix  of  the  file,
177                before exports and function definitions. This is the preferred
178                method of enabling and disabling features, since it is a local
179                property of a module.
180
181
182                makedep:
183                  Produces  a  Makefile rule to track headers dependencies. No
184                  object file is produced.
185
186                  By default, this rule is written to  <File>.Pbeam.  However,
187                  if  option binary is set, nothing is written and the rule is
188                  returned in Binary.
189
190                  The output will be encoded in UTF-8.
191
192                  For example, if you have the following module:
193
194                -module(module).
195
196                -include_lib("eunit/include/eunit.hrl").
197                -include("header.hrl").
198
199                  The Makefile rule generated by this option looks as follows:
200
201                module.beam: module.erl \
202                  /usr/local/lib/erlang/lib/eunit/include/eunit.hrl \
203                  header.hrl
204
205                makedep_side_effect:
206                  The dependencies are created as a side effect to the  normal
207                  compilation  process.  This  means that the object file will
208                  also be produced. This option override the makedep option.
209
210                {makedep_output, Output}:
211                  Writes generated rules to  Output  instead  of  the  default
212                  <File>.Pbeam. Output can be a filename or an io_device(). To
213                  write to stdout, use standard_io. However, if binary is set,
214                  nothing  is  written to Output and the result is returned to
215                  the caller with {ok, ModuleName, Binary}.
216
217                {makedep_target, Target}:
218                  Changes the name of the rule emitted to Target.
219
220                makedep_quote_target:
221                  Characters in Target special to make(1) are quoted.
222
223                makedep_add_missing:
224                  Considers missing headers as generated files and  adds  them
225                  to the dependencies.
226
227                makedep_phony:
228                  Adds a phony target for each dependency.
229
230                'P':
231                  Produces  a  listing of the parsed code, after preprocessing
232                  and parse transforms, in the file <File>.P. No  object  file
233                  is produced.
234
235                'E':
236                  Produces a listing of the code, after all source code trans‐
237                  formations have been performed, in the file <File>.E. No ob‐
238                  ject file is produced.
239
240                'S':
241                  Produces  a  listing  of  the  assembler  code  in  the file
242                  <File>.S. No object file is produced.
243
244                recv_opt_info:
245                  The compiler will emit informational warnings  about  selec‐
246                  tive  receive  optimizations (both successful and unsuccess‐
247                  ful). For more information, see the section about  selective
248                  receive optimization in the Efficiency Guide.
249
250                report_errors/report_warnings:
251                  Causes errors/warnings to be printed as they occur.
252
253                report:
254                  A short form for both report_errors and report_warnings.
255
256                return_errors:
257                  If  this  flag  is set, {error,ErrorList,WarningList} is re‐
258                  turned when there are errors.
259
260                return_warnings:
261                  If this flag is set, an extra field, containing WarningList,
262                  is added to the tuples returned on success.
263
264                warnings_as_errors:
265                  Causes warnings to be treated as errors. This option is sup‐
266                  ported since R13B04.
267
268                {error_location,line | column}:
269                  If the value of this flag is line, the  location  ErrorLoca‐
270                  tion  of  warnings and errors is a line number. If the value
271                  is column, ErrorLocation includes both a line number  and  a
272                  column  number.  Default is column. This option is supported
273                  since Erlang/OTP 24.0.
274
275                  If the value of this flag is column, debug  information  in‐
276                  cludes column information.
277
278                return:
279                  A short form for both return_errors and return_warnings.
280
281                verbose:
282                  Causes  more verbose information from the compiler, describ‐
283                  ing what it is doing.
284
285                {source,FileName}:
286                  Overrides  the  source  file  name  as  presented  in   mod‐
287                  ule_info(compile) and stack traces.
288
289                absolute_source:
290                  Turns the source file name (as presented in module_info(com‐
291                  pile) and stack traces) into an absolute path,  which  helps
292                  external tools like perf and gdb find Erlang source code.
293
294                {outdir,Dir}:
295                  Sets a new directory for the object code. The current direc‐
296                  tory is used for output, except when a  directory  has  been
297                  specified with this option.
298
299                export_all:
300                  Causes all functions in the module to be exported.
301
302                {i,Dir}:
303                  Adds  Dir to the list of directories to be searched when in‐
304                  cluding a  file.  When  encountering  an  -include  or  -in‐
305                  clude_lib  directive, the compiler searches for header files
306                  in the following directories:
307
308                  * ".", the current working directory of the file server
309
310                  * The base name of the compiled file
311
312                  * The directories specified using option  i;  the  directory
313                    specified last is searched first
314
315                {d,Macro}:
316
317
318                {d,Macro,Value}:
319                  Defines  a  macro Macro to have the value Value. Macro is of
320                  type atom, and Value can be any term. The default  Value  is
321                  true.
322
323                {parse_transform,Module}:
324                  Causes the parse transformation function Module:parse_trans‐
325                  form/2 to be applied to the parsed code before the  code  is
326                  checked for errors.
327
328                from_abstr:
329                  The  input  file  is expected to contain Erlang terms repre‐
330                  senting forms in abstract format (default file suffix  ".ab‐
331                  str"). Note that the format of such terms can change between
332                  releases.
333
334                  See also the no_lint option.
335
336                from_asm:
337                  The input file is expected to  be  assembler  code  (default
338                  file suffix ".S"). Notice that the format of assembler files
339                  is not documented, and can change between releases.
340
341                from_core:
342                  The input file is expected to be  core  code  (default  file
343                  suffix ".core"). Notice that the format of core files is not
344                  documented, and can change between releases.
345
346                no_spawn_compiler_process:
347                  By default, all code is compiled in a separate process which
348                  is  terminated  at  the  end  of  compilation. However, some
349                  tools, like Dialyzer or compilers for other BEAM  languages,
350                  may  already  manage their own worker processes and spawning
351                  an extra process may slow the compilation down. In such sce‐
352                  narios,  you  can pass this option to stop the compiler from
353                  spawning an additional process.
354
355                no_strict_record_tests:
356                  This option is not recommended.
357
358                  By   default,   the    generated    code    for    operation
359                  Record#record_tag.field  verifies  that the tuple Record has
360                  the correct size for the record, and that the first  element
361                  is the tag record_tag. Use this option to omit the verifica‐
362                  tion code.
363
364                no_error_module_mismatch:
365                  Normally the compiler verifies that the module name given in
366                  the  source  code is the same as the base name of the output
367                  file and refuses to generate an output file if  there  is  a
368                  mismatch.  If  you  have a good reason (or other reason) for
369                  having a module name unrelated to the  name  of  the  output
370                  file, this option disables that verification (there will not
371                  even be a warning if there is a mismatch).
372
373                {no_auto_import,[{F,A}, ...]}:
374                  Makes the function F/A no longer  being  auto-imported  from
375                  the erlang module, which resolves BIF name clashes. This op‐
376                  tion must be used to resolve name clashes with BIFs auto-im‐
377                  ported  before R14A, if it is needed to call the local func‐
378                  tion with the same name as an auto-imported BIF without mod‐
379                  ule prefix.
380
381            Note:
382                As  from R14A and forward, the compiler resolves calls without
383                module prefix to local or  imported  functions  before  trying
384                with  auto-imported  BIFs. If the BIF is to be called, use the
385                erlang module prefix in the call, not  {no_auto_import,[{F,A},
386                ...]}.
387
388
389                  If  this option is written in the source code, as a -compile
390                  directive, the syntax F/A can be used instead of {F,A},  for
391                  example:
392
393                -compile({no_auto_import,[error/1]}).
394
395                no_auto_import:
396                  Do not auto-import any functions from erlang module.
397
398                no_line_info:
399                  Omits  line number information to produce a slightly smaller
400                  output file.
401
402                no_lint:
403                  Skips the pass that checks for errors and warnings. Only ap‐
404                  plicable together with the from_abstr option. This is mainly
405                  for implementations of other languages  on  top  of  Erlang,
406                  which  have  already done their own checks to guarantee cor‐
407                  rectness of the code.
408
409                  Caveat: When this option is used, there  are  no  guarantees
410                  that  the code output by the compiler is correct and safe to
411                  use. The responsibility for correctness lies on the code  or
412                  person  generating the abstract format. If the code contains
413                  errors, the compiler may crash or produce unsafe code.
414
415                {extra_chunks, [{binary(), binary()}]}:
416                  Pass extra chunks to be stored in the .beam file. The  extra
417                  chunks  must  be a list of tuples with a four byte binary as
418                  chunk name followed by a binary with the chunk contents. See
419                  beam_lib for more information.
420
421              If warnings are turned on (option report_warnings described ear‐
422              lier), the following options control what type of warnings  that
423              are  generated. Except from {warn_format,Verbosity}, the follow‐
424              ing options have two forms:
425
426                * A warn_xxx form, to turn on the warning.
427
428                * A nowarn_xxx form, to turn off the warning.
429
430              In the descriptions that follow, the form that is used to change
431              the default value are listed.
432
433                {warn_format, Verbosity}:
434                  Causes  warnings  to be emitted for malformed format strings
435                  as arguments to io:format and similar functions.
436
437                  Verbosity selects the number of warnings:
438
439                  * 0 = No warnings
440
441                  * 1 = Warnings for invalid format strings and incorrect num‐
442                    ber of arguments
443
444                  * 2 = Warnings also when the validity cannot be checked, for
445                    example, when the format string argument is a variable.
446
447                  The default verbosity is 1. Verbosity 0 can also be selected
448                  by option nowarn_format.
449
450                nowarn_bif_clash:
451                  This option is removed, it generates a fatal error if used.
452
453            Warning:
454                As  from beginning with R14A, the compiler no longer calls the
455                auto-imported BIF if the name clashes with a local or  explic‐
456                itly  imported  function,  and  a call without explicit module
457                name is issued. Instead, the local  or  imported  function  is
458                called.  Still  accepting nowarn_bif_clash would make a module
459                calling functions clashing  with  auto-imported  BIFs  compile
460                with  both the old and new compilers, but with completely dif‐
461                ferent semantics. This is why the option is removed.
462
463                The use of this option has always been  discouraged.  As  from
464                R14A, it is an error to use it.
465
466                To  resolve  BIF  clashes,  use  explicit  module names or the
467                {no_auto_import,[F/A]} compiler directive.
468
469
470                {nowarn_bif_clash, FAs}:
471                  This option is removed, it generates a fatal error if used.
472
473            Warning:
474                The use of this option has always been  discouraged.  As  from
475                R14A, it is an error to use it.
476
477                To  resolve  BIF  clashes,  use  explicit  module names or the
478                {no_auto_import,[F/A]} compiler directive.
479
480
481                nowarn_export_all:
482                  Turns off warnings for uses of the  export_all  option.  De‐
483                  fault  is  to  emit  a  warning if option export_all is also
484                  given.
485
486                warn_export_vars:
487                  Emits warnings for all  implicitly  exported  variables  re‐
488                  ferred  to  after  the  primitives where they were first de‐
489                  fined. By default, the compiler only emits warnings for  ex‐
490                  ported variables referred to in a pattern.
491
492                nowarn_shadow_vars:
493                  Turns  off  warnings for "fresh" variables in functional ob‐
494                  jects or list comprehensions with the same name as some  al‐
495                  ready defined variable. Default is to emit warnings for such
496                  variables.
497
498                warn_keywords:
499                  Emits warnings when the code contains atoms that are used as
500                  keywords  in  some feature. When the feature is enabled, any
501                  occurrences will lead to a syntax error.  To  prevent  this,
502                  the atom has to be renamed or quoted.
503
504                nowarn_unused_function:
505                  Turns off warnings for unused local functions. Default is to
506                  emit warnings for all local functions that  are  not  called
507                  directly or indirectly by an exported function. The compiler
508                  does not include unused local  functions  in  the  generated
509                  beam  file,  but  the  warning  is  still useful to keep the
510                  source code cleaner.
511
512                {nowarn_unused_function, FAs}:
513                  Turns  off  warnings  for  unused   local   functions   like
514                  nowarn_unused_function  does, but only for the mentioned lo‐
515                  cal functions. FAs is a tuple {Name,Arity} or a list of such
516                  tuples.
517
518                nowarn_deprecated_function:
519                  Turns  off  warnings  for calls to deprecated functions. De‐
520                  fault is to emit warnings for every call to a function known
521                  by  the  compiler to be deprecated. Notice that the compiler
522                  does not know about attribute -deprecated(), but uses an as‐
523                  sembled  list of deprecated functions in Erlang/OTP. To do a
524                  more general check, the Xref tool  can  be  used.  See  also
525                  xref(3)  and  the function xref:m/1, also accessible through
526                  the function c:xm/1.
527
528                {nowarn_deprecated_function, MFAs}:
529                  Turns off warnings for calls to  deprecated  functions  like
530                  nowarn_deprecated_function  does, but only for the mentioned
531                  functions. MFAs is a tuple {Module,Name,Arity} or a list  of
532                  such tuples.
533
534                nowarn_deprecated_type:
535                  Turns  off  warnings for use of deprecated types. Default is
536                  to emit warnings for every use of a type known by  the  com‐
537                  piler to be deprecated.
538
539                nowarn_removed:
540                  Turns off warnings for calls to functions that have been re‐
541                  moved. Default is to emit warnings for every call to a func‐
542                  tion  known  by  the  compiler to have been recently removed
543                  from Erlang/OTP.
544
545                {nowarn_removed, ModulesOrMFAs}:
546                  Turns off warnings for calls to modules  or  functions  that
547                  have  been  removed.  Default  is to emit warnings for every
548                  call to a function known by the compiler to  have  been  re‐
549                  cently removed from Erlang/OTP.
550
551                nowarn_obsolete_guard:
552                  Turns  off warnings for calls to old type testing BIFs, such
553                  as pid/1 and list/1. See the Erlang Reference Manual  for  a
554                  complete  list  of  type  testing BIFs and their old equiva‐
555                  lents. Default is to emit warnings for  calls  to  old  type
556                  testing BIFs.
557
558                warn_unused_import:
559                  Emits  warnings for unused imported functions. Default is to
560                  emit no warnings for unused imported functions.
561
562                nowarn_underscore_match:
563                  By default, warnings are emitted when a variable that begins
564                  with  an  underscore  is matched after being bound. Use this
565                  option to turn off this kind of warning.
566
567                nowarn_unused_vars:
568                  By default, warnings are emitted for unused  variables,  ex‐
569                  cept  for  variables  beginning  with an underscore ("Prolog
570                  style warnings"). Use this option to turn off this  kind  of
571                  warning.
572
573                nowarn_unused_record:
574                  Turns off warnings for unused record definitions. Default is
575                  to emit warnings for unused locally defined records.
576
577                {nowarn_unused_record, RecordNames}:
578                  Turns off warnings for unused record definitions. Default is
579                  to emit warnings for unused locally defined records.
580
581                nowarn_unused_type:
582                  Turns  off warnings for unused type declarations. Default is
583                  to emit warnings for unused local type declarations.
584
585                nowarn_nif_inline:
586                  By default, warnings are emitted when inlining is enabled in
587                  a  module that may load NIFs, as the compiler may inline NIF
588                  fallbacks by accident. Use this option to turn off this kind
589                  of warnings.
590
591                warn_missing_spec:
592                  By  default,  warnings  are not emitted when a specification
593                  (or contract) for an exported function  is  not  given.  Use
594                  this option to turn on this kind of warning.
595
596                warn_missing_spec_all:
597                  By  default,  warnings  are not emitted when a specification
598                  (or contract) for an exported or unexported function is  not
599                  given. Use this option to turn on this kind of warning.
600
601              Other  kinds  of  warnings  are opportunistic warnings. They are
602              generated when the compiler happens to notice  potential  issues
603              during optimization and code generation.
604
605          Note:
606              The  compiler does not warn for expressions that it does not at‐
607              tempt to optimize. For example, the compiler will emit a warning
608              for  1/0  but  not for X/0, because 1/0 is a constant expression
609              that the compiler will attempt to evaluate.
610
611              The absence of warnings does not mean that there are no  remain‐
612              ing errors in the code.
613
614
615              Opportunistic  warnings  can be disabled using the following op‐
616              tions:
617
618                nowarn_opportunistic:
619                  Disable all opportunistic warnings.
620
621                nowarn_failed:
622                  Disable warnings for expressions that will always fail (such
623                  as atom+42).
624
625                nowarn_ignored:
626                  Disable warnings for expressions whose values are ignored.
627
628                nowarn_nomatch:
629                  Disable warnings for patterns that will never match (such as
630                  a=b) and for guards that always evaluate to false.
631
632          Note:
633              All options, except the include  path  ({i,Dir}),  can  also  be
634              given  in the file with attribute -compile([Option,...]). Attri‐
635              bute -compile() is allowed after the function definitions.
636
637
638          Note:
639              Before OTP 22, the option {nowarn_deprecated_function, MFAs} was
640              only  recognized  when  given  in  the file with attribute -com‐
641              pile(). (The option {nowarn_unused_function,FAs} was incorrectly
642              documented to only work in a file, but it also worked when given
643              in the option list.) Starting from OTP 22, all options that  can
644              be given in the file can also be given in the option list.
645
646
647              For debugging of the compiler, or for pure curiosity, the inter‐
648              mediate code generated by each compiler pass can  be  inspected.
649              To  print  a complete list of the options to produce list files,
650              type compile:options() at the Erlang shell prompt.  The  options
651              are  printed  in the order that the passes are executed. If more
652              than one listing option is used, the one representing the earli‐
653              est pass takes effect.
654
655              Unrecognized options are ignored.
656
657              Both WarningList and ErrorList have the following format:
658
659              [{FileName,[ErrorInfo]}].
660
661              ErrorInfo  is  described  later in this section. The filename is
662              included here, as the compiler  uses  the  Erlang  pre-processor
663              epp,  which allows the code to be included in other files. It is
664              therefore important to know to which file the location of an er‐
665              ror or a warning refers.
666
667       forms(Forms)
668
669              Is  the same as forms(Forms, [verbose,report_errors,report_warn‐
670              ings]).
671
672       forms(Forms, Options) -> CompRet
673
674              Types:
675
676                 Forms = forms()
677                 forms() = [erl_parse:abstract_form] | cerl:c_module()
678                 Options = [option()]
679                 CompRet = BinRet | ErrRet
680                 BinRet = {ok,ModuleName,BinaryOrCode} |  {ok,ModuleName,Bina‐
681                 ryOrCode,Warnings}
682                 ModuleName = module()
683                 BinaryOrCode = binary() | term()
684                 ErrRet = error | {error,Errors,Warnings}
685                 Warnings  = Errors = [{file:filename(), [{erl_anno:location()
686                 | 'none', module(), term()}]}]
687
688              Analogous to file/1, but takes a list of forms (in either Erlang
689              abstract  or  Core  Erlang format representation) as first argu‐
690              ment. Option binary is implicit, that is, no object code file is
691              produced. For options that normally produce a listing file, such
692              as 'E', the internal format for that compiler  pass  (an  Erlang
693              term, usually not a binary) is returned instead of a binary.
694
695       format_error(ErrorDescriptor) -> chars()
696
697              Types:
698
699                 ErrorDescriptor = errordesc()
700
701              Uses  an  ErrorDescriptor  and returns a deep list of characters
702              that describes the error. This function is  usually  called  im‐
703              plicitly when an ErrorInfo structure (described in section Error
704              Information) is processed.
705
706       output_generated(Options) -> true | false
707
708              Types:
709
710                 Options = [term()]
711
712              Determines whether the compiler generates a beam file  with  the
713              given  options.  true means that a beam file is generated. false
714              means that the compiler generates some listing file,  returns  a
715              binary, or merely checks the syntax of the source code.
716
717       noenv_file(File, Options) -> CompRet
718
719              Works like file/2, except that the environment variable ERL_COM‐
720              PILER_OPTIONS is not consulted.
721
722       noenv_forms(Forms, Options) -> CompRet
723
724              Works  like  forms/2,  except  that  the  environment   variable
725              ERL_COMPILER_OPTIONS is not consulted.
726
727       noenv_output_generated(Options) -> true | false
728
729              Types:
730
731                 Options = [term()]
732
733              Works like output_generated/1, except that the environment vari‐
734              able ERL_COMPILER_OPTIONS is not consulted.
735

DEFAULT COMPILER OPTIONS

737       The (host operating system) environment  variable  ERL_COMPILER_OPTIONS
738       can be used to give default compiler options. Its value must be a valid
739       Erlang term. If the value is a list, it is used as is. If it is  not  a
740       list, it is put into a list.
741
742       The  list is appended to any options given to file/2, forms/2, and out‐
743       put_generated/2.   Use   the   alternative   functions    noenv_file/2,
744       noenv_forms/2, or noenv_output_generated/2 if you do not want the envi‐
745       ronment variable to be consulted, for example, if you are  calling  the
746       compiler recursively from inside a parse transform.
747
748       The list can be retrieved with env_compiler_options/0.
749

INLINING

751       The compiler can do function inlining within an Erlang module. Inlining
752       means that a call to a function is replaced with the function body with
753       the  arguments  replaced with the actual values. The semantics are pre‐
754       served, except if exceptions are generated in the inlined code.  Excep‐
755       tions  are  reported  as occurring in the function the body was inlined
756       into.  Also,  function_clause  exceptions  are  converted  to   similar
757       case_clause exceptions.
758
759       When  a function is inlined, the original function is kept if it is ex‐
760       ported (either by an explicit export or if the  option  export_all  was
761       given) or if not all calls to the function are inlined.
762
763       Inlining does not necessarily improve running time. For example, inlin‐
764       ing can increase Beam stack use, which probably is detrimental to  per‐
765       formance for recursive functions.
766
767       Inlining  is  never  default. It must be explicitly enabled with a com‐
768       piler option or a -compile() attribute in the source module.
769
770       To enable inlining, either use the option inline to  let  the  compiler
771       decide  which  functions  to  inline, or {inline,[{Name,Arity},...]} to
772       have the compiler inline all calls to the given functions. If  the  op‐
773       tion is given inside a compile directive in an Erlang module, {Name,Ar‐
774       ity} can be written as Name/Arity.
775
776       Example of explicit inlining:
777
778       -compile({inline,[pi/0]}).
779
780       pi() -> 3.1416.
781
782
783       Example of implicit inlining:
784
785       -compile(inline).
786
787       The option {inline_size,Size} controls how large functions that are al‐
788       lowed to be inlined. Default is 24, which keeps the size of the inlined
789       code roughly the same as the un-inlined version (only relatively  small
790       functions are inlined).
791
792       Example:
793
794       %% Aggressive inlining - will increase code size.
795       -compile(inline).
796       -compile({inline_size,100}).
797

INLINING OF LIST FUNCTIONS

799       The  compiler  can also inline various list manipulation functions from
800       the module list in STDLIB.
801
802       This feature must be explicitly enabled with a  compiler  option  or  a
803       -compile() attribute in the source module.
804
805       To enable inlining of list functions, use option inline_list_funcs.
806
807       The following functions are inlined:
808
809         * lists:all/2
810
811         * lists:any/2
812
813         * lists:foreach/2
814
815         * lists:map/2
816
817         * lists:flatmap/2
818
819         * lists:filter/2
820
821         * lists:foldl/3
822
823         * lists:foldr/3
824
825         * lists:mapfoldl/3
826
827         * lists:mapfoldr/3
828

PARSE TRANSFORMATIONS

830       Parse  transformations  are  used when a programmer wants to use Erlang
831       syntax but with different semantics. The original Erlang code  is  then
832       transformed into other Erlang code.
833
834       See  erl_id_trans(3)  for an example and an explanation of the function
835       parse_transform_info/0.
836

ERROR INFORMATION

838       The ErrorInfo mentioned earlier is the  standard  ErrorInfo  structure,
839       which is returned from all I/O modules. It has the following format:
840
841       {ErrorLocation, Module, ErrorDescriptor}
842
843       ErrorLocation  is  the  atom none if the error does not correspond to a
844       specific location, for example, if the source file does not exist.
845
846       A string describing the error is obtained with the following call:
847
848       Module:format_error(ErrorDescriptor)
849

SEE ALSO

851       epp(3), erl_id_trans(3), erl_lint(3), beam_lib(3)
852
853
854
855Ericsson AB                    compiler 8.2.6.3                     compile(3)
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