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rhaj/rhai_engine/rhaibook/rust/modules/self-contained.md
2025-04-03 09:18:05 +02:00

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Compile to a Self-Contained `AST`
=================================
{{#include ../../links.md}}
```admonish tip.side "Tip"
It does not matter where the [`import`] statement occurs — e.g. deep within statements blocks
or within [function] bodies.
```
When a script [imports][`import`] external [modules] that may not be available later on, it is
possible to eagerly [_pre-resolve_][module resolver] these imports and embed them directly into a
self-contained [`AST`].
For instance, a system may periodically connect to a central source (e.g. a database) to load
scripts and compile them to [`AST`] form. Afterwards, in order to conserve bandwidth (or due to
other physical limitations), it is disconnected from the central source for self-contained
operation.
Compile a script into a _self-contained_ [`AST`] via `Engine::compile_into_self_contained`.
```rust
let mut engine = Engine::new();
// Compile script into self-contained AST using the current
// module resolver (default to `FileModuleResolver`) to pre-resolve
// 'import' statements.
let ast = engine.compile_into_self_contained(&mut scope, script)?;
// Make sure we can no longer resolve any module!
engine.set_module_resolver(DummyModuleResolver::new());
// The AST still evaluates fine, even with 'import' statements!
engine.run(&ast)?;
```
When such an [`AST`] is evaluated, [`import`] statements within are provided the _pre-resolved_
[modules] without going through the normal [module resolution][module resolver] process.
Only Static Paths
-----------------
`Engine::compile_into_self_contained` only pre-resolves [`import`] statements in the script
that are _static_, i.e. with a path that is a [string] literal.
```rust
// The following import is pre-resolved.
import "hello" as h;
if some_event() {
// The following import is pre-resolved.
import "hello" as h;
}
fn foo() {
// The following import is pre-resolved.
import "hello" as h;
}
// The following import is also pre-resolved because the expression
// is usually optimized into a single string during compilation.
import "he" + "llo" as h;
let module_name = "hello";
// The following import is NOT pre-resolved.
import module_name as h;
```